Chinese authorities have announced strict new measures in an attempt to halt the country's fast-growing African swine fever crisis, which has spread to 18 provinces and led to the culling of more than 200,000 pigs.Days after acknowledging the situation was "serious," the Chinese Agricultural Ministry on Friday reported the first outbreak of the disease in the southwestern province of Sichuan in a farm of 40 pigs.The news is especially concerning for officials as Sichuan is the top swine-producing region in China -- a country that produces half of the world's pigs with a current population o [node:read-more:link]

Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced in March that a question about citizenship would be added to the 2020 Census. Wide-ranging opposition followed — from local and state government officials, members of Congress and former Census Bureau directors, all citing consequences for decades to come. Historically, the Census Bureau has worked to guarantee the most accurate count of the entire United States population, notwithstanding citizenship. [node:read-more:link]

A Maryland-based chicken processor is weighing its options after an animal advocacy group released an undercover video purportedly showing workers punching, throwing and otherwise abusing birds on the line. [node:read-more:link]

As dairy operations increase animal numbers, they have also increased dependence on a larger labor pool. That labor pool has become less dominated by family members, and more dependent on foreign born labor. There undoubtedly would be benefits, however, there is significant risk for the dairy industry in any immigration legislation.The most recent significant immigration legislation was the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986. In 2013, the full U.S. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is extending by 60 days, until January 28, 2019, the comment period on the request for information on labeling plant-based products with names that include the names of dairy foods, such as “milk,” “yogurt,” and “cheese.” The original comment period was scheduled to end on November 27. The agency is taking this action in response to requests for additional time to submit comments. [node:read-more:link]

The farm bill conference committee could have an agreement in place as this week starts. “We’re darn close,” House Ag Committee Chair Mike Conaway told Politico a couple days after a bout of finger-pointing between conference committee members, who have since downplayed previous comments. Senate Ag Chair Pat Roberts was hopeful a deal would come together by (today) Monday. Roberts had reportedly received a House proposal Friday afternoon. [node:read-more:link]

There have been several court decisions lately across the country related to states’ Right to Farm statutes. These cases provide good examples of the types of claims that can arise against a farm operation and also illustrate the differences between each state’s Right to Farm Act. The Pennsylvania Right-to-Farm Act was at issue in Burlingame v. Dagostin, 2018 WL 1530690. [node:read-more:link]

America’s farmers have been shut out of foreign markets, hit with retaliatory tariffs and lost lucrative contracts in the face of President Trump’s trade war. But a $12 billion bailout program Mr. Trump created to “make it up” to farmers has done little to cushion the blow, with red tape and long waiting periods resulting in few payouts so far. According to the Department of Agriculture, just $838 million has been paid out to farmers since the first $6 billion pot of money was made available in September. Another pool of up to $6 billion is expected to become available next month. [node:read-more:link]

In addition to the melancholy agricultural outlook contained in recent Federal Reserve District agricultural surveys, an update last week from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis pointed to troubling data regarding Chapter 12 Bankruptcies in the District.  In addition, recent news articles have also discussed some variables that could impact the state of the U.S. agricultural economy as the 2018 harvest draws to an end. [node:read-more:link]