Federal

Consumers were significantly less likely to pay for food across several categories in November and last week's elections may have contributed to the sharp decline, according to Oklahoma State University's latest Food Demand Survey (FooDS) monthly survey.  Ag economists say the decline in willingess-to-pay may reflect “post-election uncertainty,” as the surveys were completed just two and three days after the Nov. 8th vote. [node:read-more:link]

Do you produce fruits, vegetables or other specialty crops? Are you interested in protecting your crops with crop insurance, but struggling to find crop insurance that works for the diversity of fruits or vegetables you produce on your operation?  Or maybe you’re a crop insurance agent who is interested in strengthening crop insurance options for specialty crop producers. [node:read-more:link]

German authorities say a flock of 30,000 chickens has been destroyed in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein after a strain of bird flu was detected in their enclosure.  The animals were killed Sunday and Monday as a precaution to try to contain the H5N8 strain of the virus, which can easily spread among birds but is not known to infect humans. [node:read-more:link]

Animal agriculture far too often gets more than its fair share of the blame for the global problem of antibiotic resistance, so when I saw that U.S. President Barack Obama proclaimed November 13-19 as Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, I had to see what he had to say.  The proclamation was pleasantly surprising. [node:read-more:link]

An architect of anti-immigration efforts who says he is advising President-elect Donald Trump said the new administration could push ahead rapidly on construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall without seeking immediate congressional approval.  Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who helped write tough immigration laws in Arizona and elsewhere, said in an interview that Trump's policy advisers had also discussed drafting a proposal for his consideration to reinstate a registry for immigrants from Muslim countries.  Kobach, who media reports say is a key member of Trump's transition team, s [node:read-more:link]

Canada’s softwood lumber and livestock producers are being targeted by Donald Trump’s transition team, which is advising the president-elect to extract terms more favourable to the United States in these areas in a renegotiation of the North American free-trade agreement. The head of Canada’s largest business group says a transition team memo obtained by CNN suggests Washington is about to embark on an “aggressive, protectionist approach to trade both with Mexico and with Canada.” The memo says on the first day he takes office – Jan. [node:read-more:link]

The global ag industry’s ability to feed a ballooning population may hinge on whether or not crop varieties created through genome editing and other new plant breeding innovations will fall under domestic and international regulations put in place for GMOs. [node:read-more:link]

Idaho agriculture employs more than 40 percent of all of Idaho’s undocumented immigrants. Idaho’s dairy industry is eager to see immigration reform and “certainty” in U.S. policy, said Idaho Dairymen’s Association Executive Director Bob Naerebout.

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Germany is considering ordering its poultry farmers to keep their flocks indoors following an outbreak of bird flu in the country, German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt said. Germany and Switzerland reported new outbreaks of a severe strain of bird flu on Saturday, the latest in a series of cases across Europe. The H5N8 virus has also been found in Austria, Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Croatia. Germany will consult with countries including the Netherlands, Poland and Denmark about possible action, Schmidt said ahead of a meeting in Brussels. [node:read-more:link]

Trump’s message of economic populism resonated in rural America. Just think about it: commodity prices are low, inputs are high, jobs are leaving, kids aren’t staying home after college, schools are struggling and infrastructure is crumbling. Many of these things, even in the broadest sense, played into Trump’s message of more jobs, lower taxes, and infrastructure investment. Many Democrats, in 20/20 hindsight, have criticized the Clinton campaign for what they categorize as ignoring rural voters during the campaign. [node:read-more:link]