Agriculture News
Trade uncertainty drives Iowa farmland values down 3 percent over past year, report says
Des Moines Register | Posted on March 14, 2019Iowa farmland values fell close to 3 percent over the past year, with the largest decline coming from central Iowa, a new report shows. The federal government's trade bailout program, limited land and higher yields in some parts of Iowa last fall helped support farmland values, according to the Realtors Land Institute-Iowa Chapter, a group of farmland managers, brokers, appraisers and other professionals.Farmland values dropped 2.7 percent in March compared to a year earlier, the group's report says. The statewide average was $6,794 an acre.
New Mexico bill would create first state-run pot shops in US
AP News | Posted on March 14, 2019New Mexico would become the first U.S. state to set up its own government-operated marijuana stores and subsidize medical cannabis for the poor under a bill brokered between Republicans and Democrats, as a new wave of states weighs legislation that would legalize recreational sales and consumption. The idea for state-run pot shops comes from a trio of GOP state senators who broke with local Republican Party orthodoxy to embrace legal marijuana with a decidedly big-government approach that would have the state directly oversee most sales — and require that marijuana consumers carry receipts of purchase or confront penalties.
Happy National AG Day
National Ag Day | Posted on March 14, 2019What Is Ag Day? It's a day to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture. Every year, producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies and countless others across America join together to recognize the contributions of agriculture.When Is Ag Day?Ag Day is celebrated on March 14, 2019. National Ag Day falls during National Ag Week, March 10-16, 2019.Who Hosts Ag Day?The Agriculture Council of America hosts the campaign on a national level. However, the awareness efforts in communities across America are as influential - if not more - than the broad-scale effort. Again this year, the Ag Day Planning Guide has been created to help communities and organizations more effectively host Ag Day events.What Is Ag Day All About?Ag Day is about recognizing - and celebrating - the contribution of agriculture in our everyday lives.
The fog of trade wars
Progressive Farmer | Posted on March 14, 2019Amid this trade-war fog, one thing seems clear: The Chinese are happy to talk about importing more American agricultural products -- maybe a lot more. That is not the case in another of America's unfolding trade wars. In the talks between the U.S. and the European Union, the EU is refusing to even discuss agriculture. Why? Because the EU knows what the U.S. would demand: relaxation of the EU's non-tariff barriers to American products, starting with genetically engineered crops. Previous EU-U.S. talks deadlocked over the Europeans' refusal to budge on these demands, which are highly unpopular with the European electorate. In 2015 150,000 Europeans took to the streets of Berlin assailing a proposed EU-U.S. trade deal as a "Trojan Horse" for sneaking unwanted GMOs into Europe. Faced with that threat, EU President Jean-Claude Juncker flew to Washington last July to meet with Trump. The presidents agreed to further negotiations, during which the car tariffs would not be imposed. From the moment they announced their agreement, though, they differed on what the negotiations would cover.
Trump Administration’s USDA Relocation “Contest” Makes Mockery of Agricultural Research
Union of Concerned Scientists | Posted on March 14, 2019The White House announced that it is considering 67 locations as semifinalists in its search for a new home for two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research agencies, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Economic Research Service (ERS). One proposed location that evidently meets USDA’s rigorous criteria to house these world-class agencies was recommended by a “private citizen” in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania. Academic, economic and governmental institutions made only a handful of bids. ERS and NIFA are responsible for researching critical issues, including food safety and security, nutrition assistance, rural job markets, sustainable farming practices and international trade policies. This move is yet another example of the Trump administration weakening agricultural research and scientific integrity in policymaking, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
Observations on the Ag Economy- February 2019
Farm Policy News | Posted on March 14, 2019Sixth District- Atlanta– “Agricultural conditions across the District were mixed. Recent reports showed that most of the District was drought-free, with the exception of small areas in south Florida and coastal Louisiana where conditions were abnormally dry. The February forecast for Florida’s orange crops was unchanged from the previous month but remained significantly ahead of last year’s production. Since November, weekly cash prices were up for corn, soybeans, beef and broilers, while cotton and rice prices were down.” * Seventh District- Chicago– “Prices for corn were up a bit over the reporting period, while soybean and wheat prices moved lower.Eighth District- St. Louis– “District agriculture conditions declined slightly from the previous reporting period. The number of acres of winter wheat planted this season decreased slightly from last year’s total.
USDA says dairy cows down, but not milk production
Brownfield | Posted on March 14, 2019The USDA says 2018 milk production was up on the year and during January with seven percent fewer dairy farms. Total 2018 production was up one percent at 218 billion pounds and January was up slightly more than one percent at 17.5 billion pounds.Total per cow production averaged more than 23,000 pounds last year, up 235 from 2017. Per cow production has increased 12.6 percent nationally over the past decade while the herd size has only increased two percent. There were 9.4 million milk cows on farms in 2018, down a tenth of a percent from the year before.During 2018, Michigan had the most productive cows; Colorado and Texas had the largest increase in milk production; and Alabama, Hawaii and West Virginia had the largest declines. The USDA reported a loss of more than 2,700 licensed dairy farms in 2018, nearly seven percent. In the Midwest, Michigan lost 13 percent of dairy farmers, Missouri down 12 percent, Indiana lost 10 percent, Ohio down 8 percent, Minnesota and Iowa down 7 percent, Wisconsin lost 6 percent, and Illinois was down five percent.
Dairy pulls together to support family farmers
Wisconsin Farmers | Posted on March 14, 2019The current state of the U.S. dairy economy is putting family farms out of business. Over the last 10 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recorded the loss of roughly 17,000 dairy herds, cutting the total number of U.S herds by nearly one third. A handful of family farm groups focused on improving the dairy economy are organizing a national Dairy Together Roadshow this spring to present options rooted in research and to engage farmers and policy makers in conversations to move the dairy industry forward.Last winter, Wisconsin Farmers Union enlisted dairy economists Mark Stephenson from the University of Wisconsin and Chuck Nicholson from Cornell to conduct an Analysis of Selected Dairy Programs to Reduce Volatility in Milk Prices and Farm Income. The Roadshow will unveil the researchers’ data on several potential supply management programs’ impacts on net farm operating income, farm numbers, domestic demand and cost to the government versus the current Margin Protection Program.
African swine fever could spread in animal feed
Watt Ag Net | Posted on March 13, 2019New research out of Kansas State University has confirmed that animal feed contaminated with African swine fever (ASF) virus can sicken swine, prompting scientists and industry leaders to call for caution among feed producers and importers.
The FDA FSMA Act: An inspection preview
Sustainable Agriculture | Posted on March 10, 2019Food safety inspections on produce farms are beginning this month, but there are still questions as to what the first round of Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule inspections will look like. The fact that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be regulating farms for the first time is concerning for many produce farmers who have never interacted with FDA before on a regular basis. Adding to the anxiety for some producers, is the fact that this will be the first time in history that they will have to deal with regular inspections on their farm. In order to help producers prepare, FDA has provided a preview of what a produce farm inspection might look like. Using the information provided by FDA and our own additional resources, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) details in this post what produce farmers might expect from the upcoming inspections, and provides some best practice tips for getting through the process as painlessly as possible.