Agriculture News
In Farm Belt, objections mount to ‘endless tariff war’
Food & Environmental Reporting Network | Posted on May 14, 2019In a sign that their patience is waning, soybean leaders called for talks, not tariffs, in the Sino-U.S. trade war. “With depressed prices and unsold stocks expected to double by the 2019 harvest, soybean farmers are not willing to be collateral damage in an endless tariff war,” said Davie Stephens, a Kentucky farmer and president of the American Soybean Association. The National Farmers Union, the second-largest U.S. farm group, also said that the financially beleaguered agricultural sector needs long-term economic solutions, rather than spur of the moment bailouts from the White House. Building on Twitter posts over the weekend, President Trump told reporters the administration would provide $15 billion in assistance “so our farmers can do well.” He gave no details. A 2018 package sent $8.3 billion in cash to producers of nine commodities.Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts urged a speedy resolution of the trade war. “It is essential to focus on what can be done now,” said Roberts. “These negotiations must find a successful conclusion soon so our producers can realize open and reliable markets in China and around the world.”The administration is quick to promise and slow on details, said economists Brent Gloy and David Widmar, when “farmers and ranchers deserve better” than short-term thinking. “We contend it is exceedingly difficult for U.S. producers to make business and financial plans when the promises are a combination of mixed messages and light on details. However, a strategic plan with long-term, multiple-year payments mechanisms built in – should the trade war continue – would significantly help farm managers and the farm economy.”In some of the strongest language yet by a U.S. farm group, the American Soybean Association said the trade war threatens farmers’ ability to stay in business. The ASA urged the administration to remove its unilateral tariffs and work with other nations to reform China’s trade policies. Before tit-for-tat tariffs, China bought a third of U.S.-grown soybeans. Exports have plunged and the U.S. stockpile is headed for a record 1 billion bushels, a three-month supply.“Our patience is waning, our finances are suffering and the stress from months of living with the consequences of these tariffs is mounting,” said ASA chairman John Heisdorffer, of Iowa.
Trump is terrible for rural America
The New York Times | Posted on May 12, 2019What, after all, is Trumpism? In 2016 Trump pretended to be a different kind of Republican, but in practice almost all of his economic agenda has been G.O.P. standard: big tax cuts for corporations and the rich while hacking away at the social safety net. The one big break from orthodoxy has been his protectionism, his eagerness to start trade wars. And all of these policies disproportionately hurt farm country.The Trump tax cut largely passes farmers by, because they aren’t corporations and few of them are rich. Of the 100 counties with the highest percentage of their population receiving food stamps, 85 are rural, and most of the rest are in small metropolitan areas. The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which Trump keeps trying to kill, had its biggest positive impact on rural areas. Medicaid is also a key factor keeping rural hospitals alive; without it, access to health care would be severely curtailed for rural Americans in general.What about protectionism? The U.S. farm sector is hugely dependent on access to world markets, much more so than the economy as a whole. American soybean growers export half of what they produce; wheat farmers export 46 percent of their crop. China, in particular, has become a key market for U.S. farm products. That’s why Trump’s recent rage-tweeting over trade, which raised the prospect of an expanded trade war, sent grain markets to a 42-year low.Why, then, do rural areas support Trump? A lot of it has to do with cultural factors. In particular, rural voters are far more hostile to immigrants than urban voters — especially in communities where there are few immigrants to be found. Lack of familiarity apparently breeds contempt.Rural voters also feel disrespected by coastal elites, and Trump has managed to channel their anger.
U.S. farm incomes fall in 1st qtr; trade war remains top risk to agricultural economy -Fed banks
Reuters | Posted on May 12, 2019U.S. farm incomes in the Midwest and Mid-Southern states declined yet again in the first quarter of 2019 amid ongoing strain from low commodity prices, trade uncertainty and severe weather, according to banker surveys released on Thursday by the Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Kansas City. Most bankers said one of the biggest risks to the farm economy this year remained the trade fight between the United States and China.It marked the 21st consecutive quarter for farm incomes dropping in the Eighth Federal Reserve District, which includes all or parts of seven Midwest and Mid-South states: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee."Farmers are running out of capital," one Arkansas banker told the St. Louis Fed, according to the survey. "Commodity prices are too low for input costs and rents (and) land payments."Agricultural credit conditions also deteriorated during the first quarter of 2019 in parts of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa, according to a banker survey report released on Thursday afternoon by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.Repayment rates for non-real estate farm loans - such as loans farmers would take to pay for operational costs - were lower than a year ago, and renewals and extensions of such loans were higher, according to the report.
Scientists warn a million species at risk of extinction
Reuters | Posted on May 9, 2019Loss of biodiversity stems from human activity, report says.* Wide transformation of economic systems needed-report says. Study is the work of 145 expert authors from 50 countries. Report echoes conclusions of U.N. climate change panel.
Economists flee Agriculture Dept. after feeling punished under Trump
Politico | Posted on May 9, 2019Economists in the Agriculture Department's research branch say the Trump administration is retaliating against them for publishing reports that shed negative light on White House policies, spurring an exodus that included six of them quitting the department on a single day in late April. The Economic Research Service — a source of closely read reports on farm income and other topics that can shape federal policy, planting decisions and commodity markets — has run afoul of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue with its findings on how farmers have been financially harmed by President Donald Trump's trade feuds, the Republican tax code rewrite and other sensitive issues, according to current and former agency employees.The reports highlight the continued decline under Trump’s watch in farm income, which has dropped about 50 percent since 2013. Rural voters were a crucial source of support for Trump in 2016, and analysts say even a small retreat in 2020 could jeopardize the president’s standing in several battleground states.
USDA Announces Repayment Options for Producers with Coverage in Previous Margin Protection Program for Dairy
USDA | Posted on May 9, 2019USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that dairy producers who had coverage under the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy), which provided payments to producers when the price of milk fell below the feed costs to produce it, are eligible to receive a repayment for part of the premiums paid into the program. To be eligible for this repayment, which was authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill, a dairy operation must have participated in the MPP-Dairy during any calendar year from 2014 through 2017, have the repayment calculated and verified by FSA and elect one of two options by September 20, 2019. Operations whose established production history has been transferred to an heir or new owner also are eligible.An operation’s repayment amount is calculated for each applicable calendar year in which that dairy participated in MPP-Dairy, from 2014 through 2017. The repayment amount is equal to the difference between the total amount of premiums paid by the dairy operation for each applicable calendar year of coverage and the total amount of payments made to the MPP-Dairy participating dairy operation for that applicable calendar year.
Dean Foods Falters in More Concentrated Milk Market
The Wall Street Journal | Posted on May 9, 2019America’s biggest milk maker is running out of options as milk consumption continues to decline in the U.S. Dean Foods Co.’s sinking sales also have been hurt by big customers such as Walmart Inc.opening their own dairy plants to help guarantee their own supply. The dairy company’s sales last year of $7.8 billion were down 38% from a decade ago.Shares in Dean Foods have lost around 60% of their value this year, and the Dallas-based company’s $141 million market value is about 5% of what it was worth a decade ago.
USDA economists fear crackdown on research
Politico | Posted on May 9, 2019Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s plan to relocate the Economic Research Service outside the Beltway has triggered a brain drain of veteran economists, amid staff complaints the administration is cracking down on research that doesn’t align with White House priorities. Perdue’s relocation plan for the agency, which some ERS members believe is retaliation for reports that are unflattering to Trump administration policies, has triggered a brain drain at ERS, your host writes today.A steady flow of veteran researchers has left ERS in recent months, including six economists with more than 50 years of experience who left on one day in late April.The number of non-retirement departures from ERS so far in fiscal 2019 is on track to be more than twice as high as the previous three-year average, according to data collected by employees.Some current and former ERS economists told POLITICO they view the relocation as a form of punishment for the agency’s findings that don’t always align with Republican arguments on issues from taxes and trade to farm subsidies, food stamps and the environment.
Florida Producer Survives Undercover Video Attack
Milk Business | Posted on May 9, 2019Someone had shot an undercover video on his dairy. “I’ll always remember that day, Nov. 9, 2017,” Larson recalls. “We really didn’t have any warning. By the time she emailed it to me it was already online. Boy, it was rough. The initial reaction when I first saw it, I was just gut shot. I literally didn’t eat anything for 24 hours. I just wanted to throw up.”Larson’s phone was blowing up with calls, and he couldn’t keep track of them all. There were so many that he couldn’t even get a call in to his office. When he finally made it through, they knew all about the video—they were swamped with calls as well. It got so bad Larson had to unplug the office phones. Some of the calls were press, most were harassment. “Every member of our family and extended family was affected,” Larson says. “Unfortunately, the Larson name was severely tarnished. The activists were so good at their attack, even some people in the industry who knew us began to have some doubts.”The right communications are critical in the first few hours in a situation like this, and Sleper says SMI felt it necessary to take a major role in communications, strategy and decision-making. He says while it takes a team effort between different stakeholders, a cooperative can play a pivotal role with its link between other dairy producer members, customers and stakeholders such as FDF, NMPF and industry experts.
New York wants to fight climate change through good farming. Here's the dirt.
Grist | Posted on May 9, 2019Dobson’s work drew the attention of Barrett a few years back. In 2015, she toured the farm for the first time and asked him for advice on how to incentivize climate change–thwarting farming practices. “It just seemed like a no brainer,” Barrett said. “New York can lead on this.” The resulting pilot project, included in this year’s state budget, will test out different methods of farming in a way that promotes soil health and fights global warming.It’s true that nothing quite compares to the natural ability of trees to soak up carbon dioxide. Reforesting parts of the U.S. could sink up 307 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 65 million cars), whereas cover cropping could mitigate 103 million metric tons (another 21 million cars), according to a 2018 study in Science Advances.But humans need farms to survive. And it’s Dobson’s kind of farm that might just help us survive in the long run.