Agriculture News
Animal Drug and Animal Generic Drug User Fee Reauthorized
FDA | Posted on August 22, 2018These two user fee programs enhance the FDA’s ability to maintain a predictable and timely animal drug review process, foster innovation in drug development, and expedite access to new therapies for food-producing and companion animals.
Danes to fence German border to stop boars with swine fever
AP | Posted on August 22, 2018Denmark is to erect a 70-kilometer (43.4-mile) fence along the German border to keep out wild boars, in the hope of preventing the spread of African swine fever, which can jeopardize the country’s valuable pork industry. Denmark’s Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday it had approved the outline for the steel fence, which will be up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall. Construction is slated to start next year.Lawmakers approved the fence in June, among a raft of measures aimed at stopping the spread of African swine fever, which has been reported in the European Union, chiefly in the Baltics, Poland and Romania.Critics say the 30 million kroner ($4.5 million) fence will harm wildlife and is a symbolic gesture tackling a largely non-existent problem.The fence would be out up in such a manner that “people and transportation could still be able to cross in accordance with (the EU’s border-free) Schengen zone, said Bent Rasmussen, of Denmark’s Environmental Protection Agency.He also conceded that wild animals could, in theory, pass through 15 gaps in the fence where it crosses highways, roads and streams.
Weak farm economy leading to fewer farm loans
Minnesota Star Tribune | Posted on August 22, 2018More farm loan applications are being rejected in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states in reaction to weak farm commodity prices and income. The latest Rural Mainstreet survey says nearly one-third of bank CEOs reported rejecting a higher percentage of farm loans, while nearly 55 percent indicated their banks had raised collateral requirements in the face of weak farm prices and income.
Tariffs could cost fruit, nut industries over $3 billion
| Posted on August 16, 2018The ongoing international trade turmoil between the U.S. and other countries has prompted import tariffs on many U.S. agricultural commodities in important export markets, which could hurt U.S. farmers.A new report released by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources' Agricultural Issues Center estimates the higher tariffs could cost major U.S. fruit and nut industries $2.64 billion per year in exports to countries imposing the higher tariffs, and as much as $3.34 billion by reducing prices in alternative markets.
How vegans got it wrong on cattle & climate change
BEEF | Posted on August 16, 2018Consumer perceptions could be changing as a shift in reporting about beef favors cattle grazing as an important part of land management
Research proves beef production nets positive use of natural resources
Beef | Posted on August 16, 2018New research shows the net benefits of cattle production when considering natural resources used and the resulting protein source for human consumption.
Pennsylvania plan seeks ways to bolster dairy farms, including stabilizing prices
Pittsburgh Post Gazette | Posted on August 16, 2018The Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board, an independent state agency tasked with setting milk prices and helping farmers find markets, should review whether it needs greater authority to stabilize prices.That was one of several proposals unveiled Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which studied ways to help the state’s dairy industry survive a years-long economic crisis. The Dairy Development Plan — pulled together with input from meetings with several state agencies and dairy industry groups — laid out long-term goals as well, including investments in transportation, broadband and workforce development. New funding of $7 million for research and development into new dairy products, as well as better marketing and promotion. Economic development incentives of $15 million to bring dairy processors to Pennsylvania. Convincing 244 school districts and 64 individual schools to carry milk in cafeterias.
King says farmers want EPA action on ethanol, not $12 billion aide package
Radio Iowa | Posted on August 16, 2018Republican Congressman Steve King today said the best thing the Trump Administration could do to alleviate farmers’ angst about the trade war would be to allow higher percentages of ethanol to be blended into gasoline year-round. “Let the market determine what that blend could be It could go E15, E20, E30, all the way up to E85,” King said. “If the administration does that, I will tell you our producers here would be happy and they would be a lot happier than the promise of $12 billion distributed. They want to earn and they want to trade.”
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says tariffs 'like weight loss'
Fox News | Posted on August 16, 2018Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told Fox News on Wednesday that President Trump's tariffs on imports from China, the European Union and other nations are "a little bit like weight loss ... it's kind of painful to start with, but you're healthier in the end."The secretary spoke to Fox News as a set of 10-percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese goods is due to take effect Aug. 23. The proposed tariffs affect more than 6,000 product lines, including seafood, tobacco and components used in products such as car rear-view mirrors and burglar alarms. Beijing has responded by threatening new tariffs of 5 to 25 percent on roughly 5,000 U.S. products.
Firms that bossed agriculture for a century face new threat: farmers
Wall Street Journal | Posted on August 16, 2018Across the U.S. Farm Belt, the balance of power is swinging away from multibillion-dollar agribusinesses.For over a century, companies such as Cargill Inc. held sway over markets for U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat, quoting prices to farmers who trucked their crops to company grain elevators. Cargill and its peers would then market crops to food and beverage makers across the country. Now farmers are increasingly calling the shots. Running expanded, consolidated farms, big farm operators are pushing grain giants for better prices or striking their own deals to directly supply manufacturers, cutting out the middleman.On his farm near Tuscola, Ill., Austin Apgar, 36 years old, is preparing to send some of this fall’s harvest to market. Earlier in his 14 years of farming, Mr. Apgar said he typically trucked his crop to one of the local grain elevators, where the employees may not have known his name.Today, Cargill, facing challenges in its grain business, is working to keep him close. Two states away, Adam Hyer, a Cargill grain trader based in Ohio, is negotiating to purchase hundreds of thousands of bushels of corn from Mr. Apgar. As part of the deal, Cargill may provide semi trucks to haul it away at a discounted rate.