Federal

At the end of a week that saw China send mixed signals on agriculture trade, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the time has come for federal lawmakers to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Those in favor of the TPP say it is important for the U.S. to move quickly, so as not to allow China to take the lead on trade in Southeast Asia. This week, China agreed to re-open beef imports from the United States and made an agreement with Canada to import more canola, while also moving forward with an anti-dumping case against U.S. distillers grains. [node:read-more:link]

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture has renewed a cooperative agreement with the FDA related to the implementation of the Produce Safety Rule under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).   NASDA says the “expanded scope” of the cooperative agreement will let its members provide leadership and support for the On-Farm Readiness Review Project, a concept that NASDA developed with FDA that allows growers to receive a pre-assessment of how they stand in terms of produce safety rule compliance. [node:read-more:link]

German lawmakers called on regulators to curb Bayer’s $66 billion takeover of U.S. seed giant Monsanto in a skepticism-laced parliamentary session that highlights the backlash to the deal Bayer faces in its home market. The debate Wednesday in the lower house of parliament, called by the opposition Green Party, laid bare the depth of resistance to Bayer’s buying a U.S. company that many Germans view as a champion of genetically modified crops and a weedkiller they believe might cause cancer. [node:read-more:link]

The announcement of a new agreement that will open China to Canadian beef appears to be a significant development and a sign of a warming political relationship between the two nations, according to officials of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), who said they are interested to see the ramifications of this agreement for U.S. beef. [node:read-more:link]

Waves of immigrants coming into the U.S. in recent decades have helped the economy over the long haul and had little lasting impact on the wages or employment levels of native-born Americans, according to one of the most comprehensive studies yet on the topic. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report on immigration assesses the economic and fiscal impacts of immigration, offering a broad look at a phenomenon that has moved to the forefront of the presidential race, with both candidates debating the downsides and merits of immigration. [node:read-more:link]

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) opened its 2016 annual meeting today by calling for the federal government to allow the states to play a greater role in policymaking in the next administration.  NASDA's board of directors unanimously approved the group's “Call to Action to 2020: Advancing Agriculture through Enhanced Partnerships,” underscoring the importance of what NASDA President Greg Ibach called “cooperative federalism.”   Ibach, who is also Nebraska's Director of Agriculture, said the Call to Action was drafted after an “escalation” of what he said [node:read-more:link]

Pursuant to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the governments of Canada and the United States have finalized a Lake Superior Lakewide Action and Management Plan (LAMP)which is an ecosystem-based strategy for restoring and protecting Lake Superior water quality. The LAMP documents ecosystem conditions and threats, and presents science and action priorities. [node:read-more:link]

Following a 13-year ban on U.S. beef exports to China, the Chinese Government indicates the nation will begin accepting U.S. beef from animals less than 30 months of age. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association calls the indication a tremendous opportunity for U.S. cattle producers. The U.S. Meat Export Federation called the announcement a “welcome first step” in restarting beef exports to China. The U.S. Department of Agriculture now must work with China’s Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine to approve the certificates and protocols for exports. [node:read-more:link]

Eleven of the state's 14 counties have been deemed "primary natural disaster areas" by the United States Department of Agriculture due to substantial crop losses that began with a February deep freeze and continued though a summer marked by severe drought. Farmers in those counties are eligible for low interest emergency loans from the USDA's Farm Service Agency, the USDA said. Farmers have eight months to apply for a loan to help cover part of their losses. [node:read-more:link]

t’s been a long election season all across the country, and as presidential candidates have answered questions from voters and media, very few of those questions have centered on the food supply. As the election nears, Penton Agriculture sought to engage the candidates in a discussion about agriculture, including their plans, potential farm bills, trade and more. With all that in mind, we posed the following set of questions to both candidates, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. [node:read-more:link]