Federal

For an eighth straight month, the Rural Mainstreet Index fell below growth neutral. • Almost one-third of bankers support an April Federal Reserve short term interest rate hike. • Farmland prices remained below growth neutral for the 29th straight month. Cash farmland rents are down by 7 percent over the past year. • More than four of ten bankersreported rising regulatory costs are the biggest threat to banking operations over the next five years. [node:read-more:link]

Nebraska farmers and fertilizer dealers are working together with members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation to fix a misguided regulatory proposal by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) related to the storage and handling of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer. “The regulatory proposal was initiated under a false premise, is unnecessary, and will cost Nebraska cooperatives and Nebraska farmers millions of dollars collectively,” said Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson. [node:read-more:link]

FDA issued a final rule that requires the sponsor of each approved or conditionally approved new animal drug product containing an antimicrobial active ingredient submit an annual report to the Food and Drug Administration.

The new sales data will improve the agency’s understanding of how antimicrobials are sold and distributed for use in major food-producing species and help further target efforts to ensure judicious use of medically important antimicrobials. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. is again challenging China at the World Trade Organization over the country's antidumping and countervailing duties on U.S. broiler chicken, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced.The U.S. poultry industry has lost roughly $800 million per year since China began levying its duties on U.S. chicken in 2010, according to USTR officials who predicted they have a strong case against China.

China still buys chicken paws and wing tips, from the U.S., but total U.S. exports dropped by about 90 percent over two years after China began levying the duties on broilers. [node:read-more:link]

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump told supporters at a campaign stop in Nebraska that he plans to go tit-for-tat when it comes to tariffs on ag products such as beef.  “There won’t be any more tariffs with Japan, or if there will, we’re going to do it the opposite way to them. "You want to charge a tariff of 38 percent to Nebraska for its beef? Then we’re going to charge you a tariff of 38 percent when you sell your cars to the United States. It’s a very simple thing,’” Trump said.  [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) today announced $8.7 million in cooperative agreements for risk management education and training programs. The funding would give organizations needed resources to develop training and education tools to help farmers and ranchers, especially those traditionally underserved or with limited resources, learn how to effectively managing long-term risks and challenges. [node:read-more:link]

By January 2017,  if a producer wants to use antibiotics in feed, they will have to have a vet on call to issue a Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) or a prescription. The two will also need to have something the FDA has so nimbly named a Veterinarian Client Patient Relationship (VCPR). [node:read-more:link]

As a farmer, I would not like it if Europe shipped subsidized beef into our market. That would undercut our prices. What if Brazil shipped subsidized soybeans to us? We would be furious.

Did you know that the U.S. government does this all of the time? Think about it this way. There are millions of people underfed, some starving, in many countries. The humanitarian thing to do is, send them food. And we should, but it’s not as simple as that. [node:read-more:link]

State veterinarians across the nation are reviewing a recently proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture rule that eliminates the approval of outdoor porches for hens from the National Organic Program, instead requiring direct exposure of hens to the outdoors. Recently, California state veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones expressed concern with the rule in a comment to USDA.

Jones urged USDA and its Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to reconsider this proposed rule, especially the outdoor access requirements that may pose serious animal health and food safety concerns. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the release of a three-year conservation strategy that will guide the voluntary restoration of 500,000 acres of habitat for the lesser prairie-chicken, an iconic grassland bird of the southern Great Plains. The bird has historically suffered from population declines and this strategy is part of an ongoing science-based strategic effort by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to restore grassland and prairie ecosystems while enhancing grazing lands in five states. [node:read-more:link]