Agriculture

The justices did not comment Monday in leaving in place a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling against Chad Jarreau of Cut Off, Louisiana. The local government agency in charge of protection from hurricanes took the dirt from just under an acre of Jarreau's property to build up a nearby levee.The agency initially paid him just $1,326. Jarreau won a judgment of $164,000 for the dirt after a trial, but ended up with less than $12,000 after the state high court ruled.Jarreau had dug up most of his 17-acre tract and sold the dirt for use in construction projects. [node:read-more:link]

Cargill said it will launch an initiative this month in Canada to test new technologies for tracking cattle with the goal of developing a verified sustainability standard to give consumers more information about the beef they eat. Called the Cargill Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration pilot, the effort should move the company’s customers -- by the end of 2018 -- a step closer to providing consumers with beef from operations that have been audited from ‘birth to burger’ using an industry developed sustainability standard, Cargill said. [node:read-more:link]

Kansas Grain and Feed Association’s (KGFA) board of directors announced senior vice president of government affairs, Ron Seeber, as the association’s president and CEO Monday morning. On Nov. 15, 2017, Seeber is set to become just the sixth person to hold KGFA’s top executive position since its inception in 1896. Seeber also will be the president and CEO of KGFA’s longstanding management contractors, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association and Renew Kansas. [node:read-more:link]

The Federal Reserve Board released its October 2017 Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District. The report included several observations pertaining to the U.S. agricultural economy. “On balance, crop conditions worsened in late August and September as drought conditions spread in the District. [node:read-more:link]

President Trump’s nominee for a top position in the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

After harvesting a corn or soybean crop, farmers may plant a cover crop for a variety of reasons—to reduce soil erosion and nutrient runoff, increase organic matter in the soil, and improve water quality. Now there’s another reason. University of Illinois research shows that migratory birds prefer to rest and refuel in fields with cover crops. “Here in the Midwest, we’re in one of the major flyway zones for migratory birds, where there once was plenty of habitat for grassland birds to safely forage and rest during their migration. [node:read-more:link]

The only bad trade agreement is one that you’re not in, so it’s imperative that the United States can hold its own in existing trade pacts, while also developing new relationships. Seng sees the fact that the pork complex exports are up 9% is “very encouraging news for us because pork has always been a challenge to some degree. Mexico is up about 18%. … We’re watching Mexico because quietly it has become our No. 1 volume destination and it’s a very important market, a growing market for us.”In addition to Mexico, U.S. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. Tobacco Cooperative, Inc. ("U.S. Tobacco"), formerly known as Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corporation, has reached a $24 million Settlement to resolve claims made by current and former U.S. Tobacco members over reserve funds.  Tobacco growers across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama who were or are members of U.S. Tobacco, as well as their heirs or representatives, are eligible for a payment from the Settlement. The Settlement stems from a lawsuit that claims U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Studies show the Southeast, Midwest, and Great Plains regions will likely experience greater combined economic effects compared to other regions.The GAO advised  that $350 billion is being spent by the federal government in 2017 because of extreme weather and fire events. GAO believes these numbers will increase and that floods and drought once considered rare will become more common and intense because of climate change. [node:read-more:link]

Efforts to convince Tyson Foods Inc. to build a proposed $320 million chicken complex in Sedgwick County, Kan., include a letter signed by all five county commissioners, according to a published report. The letter said the panel is “ready to collaborate with (Tyson) regarding this venture and leverage many of our important partnerships." The letter touted the county’s “land mass, transportation system and agricultural framework to support the Tyson facilities,” the report said. [node:read-more:link]