Agriculture News
American Soybean Association Joins Farmers for Free Trade
Hoosier Ag Today | Posted on August 2, 2018The American Soybean Association this week announced it will join Farmers for Free Trade. Representing soybean farmers across the nation, ASA is joining the bipartisan campaign self-described as “amplifying the voices of American farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses that support free trade.” ASA CEO Ryan Findlay says agriculture needs “strong likeminded allies” in advocating for new trade agreements and expanding international markets.
Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN acquires soil health planning software
Agdaily | Posted on August 2, 2018Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN has acquired an Iowa-based software company whose soil health and conservation planning software is already helping the company lead the way on innovative conservation stewardship. The Agren business and tools will be operated by the Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN division.
Over half of US farms lose money
Agriculture.com | Posted on August 2, 2018U.S. farmers that are losing money are not alone, according to data collected by the USDA. The study analyzed data from 2015. Over half of U.S. farm households report losses from their farm businesses each year. There is a caveat. Because net farm income isn’t the total contributor to the financial well-being of farm families, tax-loss benefits and asset appreciation pushes the share of households with positive annual farm returns rises from 43 to 70 percent.
How Can Landowners Protect Themselves from Liability?
Texas Agriculture Law Blog | Posted on August 1, 2018A common concern for landowners across the country is how to ensure they are protected from liability if someone is injured on their property. In fact, in one morning last week, I got three emails from landowners asking what they could do now to be in a position to best defend themselves in the event an injury does occur on their land. Importantly, there is no silver-bullet that will ensure a landowner will not ever be liable for anything. Additionally, there is nothing a landowner can do to make it impossible for another person to file a lawsuit against the landowner. There are, however, numerous steps landowners can take to limit liability and protect their operations from this concern. Every landowner needs to have a liability insurance policy that covers every activity taking place on the property. However, generally speaking, warning any guest on the property about dangerous conditions or making them safe would satisfy the duty of care owned by a landowner to any type of guest on the property.
The US has a 2.5 billion-pound surplus of meat.
Vox | Posted on August 1, 2018US dairy producers now have a 1.39 billion-pound surplus of cheese, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture. That’s the largest domestic reserve of cheddar, Swiss, American, and other cheese varieties on record. It means there’s enough excess cheese to arm each American citizen with a hefty 4.6 pounds of the crumbly, melty, salty good stuff. Why is this happening? Simply put: US dairy producers have been overproducing milk. American cows are more productive than ever. And when demand for milk and dairy goes down in the summer, dairy producers store their excess milk as cheese, which has a longer shelf life in cold storage. A similar glut exists for the meat industry. According to new data from the USDA, American meat producers now have 2.5 billion pounds of chicken, turkey, pork, and beef in cold storage, which is also a record, according to the Wall Street Journal. And producers are running out of warehouse space to store it all.
Nebraska, Iowa State to lead new institute to fight antimicrobial resistance
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on July 31, 2018The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges announced July 26 that three universities will partner to lead a new national institute addressing antimicrobial resistance. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and its medical center, Iowa State University and the University of Iowa were selected to head up the new Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education. The institute will be jointly funded by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Iowa State at a combined $525,000 per year for three years ($1.575 million total).
NY plan will preserve food stamp use at farmers’ markets
Livingston County News | Posted on July 31, 2018Food stamp recipients in New York will not see their ability to use their benefits at farmers’ markets interrupted this summer. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that the state and the Farmers Market Federation had reached agreement with Nova Dia Group, the mobile application vendor that was to close this summer, to continue processing farmers’ markets transactions that use food stamps, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.State officials and farmers markets learned in early July that Novo Dia Group, the company that had been processing food stamp purchases at markets, was closing July 31 – in the middle of a busy farmers’ market season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture had contracted with Novo Dia, the only USDA-authorized contractor of a cellular-based redemption system app for smartphones, to process SNAP transactions. USDA did hire a replacement company, but that company does not provide smartphone capabilities.Novo Dia’s software is used by 40 percent of farmers markets across the country, and all 500 markets in New York.New York State has hired Novo Dia to continue to process SNAP transactions, though the deal offers only a short-term solution, Cuomo.The solution could also provide solutions for other affected markets in the country, according to Cuomo and Novo Dia President Josh Wiles.
Coalition Urges California Board to Reject ‘Unimpaired Flows’ Plan
Ag Net West | Posted on July 31, 2018Urging the state water board to reject a proposal to redirect flows in three Central California rivers, a coalition of more than 50 agricultural, water and business organizations encouraged the board to renew efforts for voluntary agreements with affected water users. “This unified response from groups representing farmers, ranchers, and urban and rural residents alike demonstrates the impact the water board’s proposal would have, and the need for the board to explore alternative methods that would help fish without the severe human cost of its current approach,” California Farm Bureau Federation President Jamie Johansson said. The State Water Resources Control Board is scheduled to vote on the proposal next month. It would commit much more water in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers to “unimpaired flows” intended to benefit salmon and other fish.
From Congress, a call to help fishermen caught in trade war
Alaska Public Media | Posted on July 31, 2018Democrats in the U.S. House are urging President Trump to give fisherman caught in the trade war with China the same benefits announced Tuesday for farmers. Sen. Lisa Murkowski issued a statement yesterday calling the aid to farmers an admission that “tariffs are hurting, not helping, our country.” She said American fishermen are also caught in the crossfire. They say America’s fishermen are hurt coming and going. First, they wrote, fishermen were disadvantaged by the U.S. tariff on imported steel and aluminum, which raises the cost of boats, crab traps and other metal gear. Now China has slapped a 25 percent retaliatory tariff on American seafood.Alaska companies export about $1 billion worth of seafood to China annually.
A Dog Chasing its Tail Needs More Than a Band Aid
DTN | Posted on July 31, 2018Several weeks ago, Joni Ernst, junior senator, Iowa, was being questioned by the moderator of CBS' "Face The Nation" on the topic of trade war and the significant price the Trump administration's policy was extracting from pork producers and soybean farmers in her red/purple state. Sen. Ernst calmly declared that while her agricultural constituents were understandably anxious about the ultimate effectiveness of higher tariffs and continue to extol the virtues of free trade, Iowa proudly remained Trump country -- confident that the president's long-term plan made sense. "TRADE NOT AID," Ernst roared in response like a delegate to the National Convention of Adam Smith Lovers. She went on to insist that Iowa producers were solely interested in reclaiming revenue fairly won from honest markets. That's why she must have been shocked, along with a large host of lawmakers and agricultural producers in general, when USDA announced on Tuesday winning numbers for an unexpected, unsolicited aid package worth $12 billion, payable to a selected pool of would-be global traders...USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue unveiled the unusual package (aid, bail-out, subsidy, give-away -- take your pick) with great fanfare, to be dispersed through three separate programs (i.e., direct assistance, food purchases and trade promotion). Under the plan, farmers growing soybeans, corn, sorghum, wheat, cotton, milk and hogs will be able to apply for "tariff aid payments" sometime this fall to offset the impact of lost trade markets.