Agriculture

U.S. exports of beef and pork moderated in April from March but were still significantly higher year over year, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation. At 99,786 metric tons, valued at $550.4 million, beef exports were down 5.2 percent in volume and 6.4 percent in value from March. But they were up 13 percent in volume and 14 percent in value from April 2016.Pork exports, at 203,864 metric tons, were valued at $517.5 million and were down 10.9 percent in volume and 11.8 percent in value from record-breaking levels in March. [node:read-more:link]

California is an example of a state where climate change action has helped fuel the state’s recovery from the Great Recession. In 2006, California passed the country’s most comprehensive climate change law, adopting ambitious greenhouse gas reduction measures. But instead of lagging behind, California surged ahead thanks in large part to our action on climate change mitigation. Since those laws went into affect, the state’s GDP growth has significantly outpaced the national average, and California now leads the country in job growth. [node:read-more:link]

Last week, the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) released a new report indicating that changes to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) made in the 2014 Farm Bill have been well-received by farmers and have led to a doubling of NAP applications – from 66,000 in 2014 to 138,000 in 2015. [node:read-more:link]

Called Undeniably Dairy, the website and campaign combine facts and features about all things dairy.Up to this point, the industry’s efforts to set the record straight have met with varying degrees of success.A new effort aims at improving that record.It’s called Undeniably Dairy and combines some new features and others that have been around for awhile that are upbeat and non-defensive. Some are informative, and others are just for fun. [node:read-more:link]

An Ohio Department of Agriculture spokesman has disputed an activist group’s claim that the state agency has for 15 years lacked legal authority to issue or enforce permits for more than 200 livestock facilities large enough to be classified as concentrated animal feeding operations. “ODA’s priority has and will continue to be to operate a thorough and reasonable permitting program that protects Ohio’s natural resources while allowing agriculture to remain productive,” spokesman Brett B. [node:read-more:link]

Since 2012, China has become the predominant market for U.S. agriculture exports, accounting for 16% of U.S. agriculture export value in 2016. The value of exports to China increased 25.6% per year from 2002 to 2013 and added $23.4 billion to the U.S. agricultural export market over this time period. Exports to China in 2014 and 2015 declined slightly but began to rebound in 2016. In 2016, the four largest export markets for U.S. agricultural commodities and products—China, Canada, Mexico, and Japan—accounted for 52% of U.S. agriculture export sales (USDA, 2017a). Strong growth in U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Arla Foods, a Europe-based cheesemaker with a plant in the Fox Valley, has been sued over a $30 million advertising campaign that — the plaintiff says — casts bovine growth hormone rbST in an unfavorable light.  In a lawsuit filed recently in U.S. District Court in Green Bay, Eli Lilly Elanco US of Indianapolis alleges that Arla’s campaign perpetuates false claims that rbST — which promotes milk production in cows — is dangerous.Elanco markets rbST — recombinant bovine somatotropin — under the brand name Posilac. [node:read-more:link]

Mexico announced plans to invest $30 million in a Guatemalan milk plant, aiming to increase employment in its neighbor and reduce the outflow of migrants. The plant will be built in Escuintla, 31 miles (50 kilometers) outside of Guatemala City.  A representative of Guatemala's foreign ministry told The Associated Press that the plant will generate at least 4,000 new jobs. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said cross-border commitment is particularly important for efficient trade and migration. [node:read-more:link]

Tim Mueller has raised corn and soybeans on 530 acres near the city of Columbus, Nebraska, for decades, but today he is planning to take a big gamble.The big box retailer Costco is building a new chicken processing plant in Fremont, about an hour from Mueller’s farm. The company plans for the plant to slaughter 2 million birds per week. To raise all those chickens, the company is recruiting about 120 farmers to sign on as contract poultry farmers. Mueller wants in. [node:read-more:link]

With nearly 25 percent of the state in a moderate drought, cattle ranchers are selling more livestock. [node:read-more:link]