Just days from Thanksgiving, some turkey farmers are feeling the effects of Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue’s decision to pull out of the final interim GIPSA rule. Politico reports that just hours after the announcement, Plainville Farms of Pennsylvania presented its farmers with updated contracts that required the producers to make costly upgrades to their operations or accept a cut in pay. One Pensylvania farmer is aiming to get out of the business as a result of the new contract. Ike Horst raised 22,000 organic turkeys on his farm. Plainview is requiring the new owner of the operation to install upgrades like new fans, tunnel ventilation, and a stationary generator. Renovations will be difficult for all their contract farmers to make in the winter as they have to find temporary housing for a lot of birds. The interim rule would have made it easier for producers to sue the meatpacking or processing companies they contract with. Mike Weaver is president of the Organization for Competitive Markets. He says, “We’re fairly convinced that if the Secretary wouldn’t have done away with the rules we wanted to get implemented, companies wouldn’t do things like this.” Weaver thinks doing away with GIPSA has emboldened companies to abuse their growers.

American Farm Bureau Federation’s 32nd annual price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.12, a 75-cent decrease from last year’s average of $49.87.

The big ticket item a 16-pound turkey came in at a total of $22.38 this year. That’s roughly $1.40 per pound, a decrease of 2 cents per pound, or a total of 36 cents per whole turkey, compared to 2016.

“For the second consecutive year, the overall cost of Thanksgiving dinner has declined,” AFBF Director of Market Intelligence Dr. John Newton said. “The cost of the dinner is the lowest since 2013 and second-lowest since 2011. Even as America’s family farmers and ranchers continue to face economic challenges, they remain committed to providing a safe, abundant and affordable food supply for consumers at Thanksgiving and throughout the year.”

The shopping list for Farm Bureau’s informal survey includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10 with plenty for leftovers. After adjusting for inflation, the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner is $20.54, the lowest level since 2013.

Monsanto announced that it’s on track to reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2021. The company expects to meet the commitment it first made in December of 2015. Operational improvements have already reduced Monsanto’s carbon footprint by more than 200,000 metric tons. That’s a reduction about equal to burning 200,000 fewer tons of coal. The rate of reduction is expected to increase over the next several years. Hugh Grant, Monsanto chair and CEO says, “We’ve made reductions in our own carbon footprint and we’d like to lead by example. We’re showing the enormous potential that modern agriculture has to reduce the industry’s global carbon footprint.” Monsanto is focusing on three main areas in its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality. Those areas are internal operations, which includes seed production, as well as breakthrough products and joint initiatives with farmers and other global partners. Monsanto has already demonstrated that certain modern ag practices can reduce emissions and enable crops to be grown in a way that absorbs and stores greenhouse gases in the soil.

Growth Energy applauds a letter from 18 members of the House to the Environmental Protection Agency dealing with cellulosic and advanced biofuels. Donald Payne, Jr., Ruben Gallego, and 16 of their colleagues sent a letter to the EPA asking the agency to increase their blending targets for cellulosic biofuels and biodiesel for the final 2018 Renewable Volume Obligations. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says, “We want to thank the champions in Congress who are working hard to ensure that the Renewable Fuels Standard will continue to deliver savings and health benefits to communities in all regions of the country.” Growth Energy says thanks to the RFS and ethanol in the nation’s fuel supply, Americans breathe cleaner air every day. Starch-based ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent when compared to regular gasoline. Advanced biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100 percent or more. Skor says, “Increasing volumes for cellulosic and advanced biofuels is essential to ensure that producers and stakeholders will have the certainty they need to continue to invest in cellulosic ethanol.”

Agriculture will not be a big focus in the current round of talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement. Bloomberg says negotiators will focus this round on regional content rules for products like cars, as well as financial services. One of the most contentious proposals from the U.S. deals with rules-of-origin for cars. Those rules determine how much of a vehicle must be produced in North America to trade without tariffs. The Trump Administration wants the requirement raised from 62.5 percent to 85 percent. The White House wants 50 percent of a vehicle’s content to come from the U.S. Other proposals that Canada and Mexico are balking at include a five-year sunset clause, getting rid of settlement dispute panels, and ending Canada’s dairy supply management program. Bloomberg says there are other topics negotiators will discuss, including telecommunications, digital trade, government procurement, investment, labor, and intellectual property.

(NAFB) Farm groups offered a mixed reaction to House passage of a tax reform package. The American Farm Bureau Federation called the action a “step closer to a tax code that works for all farmers and ranchers.” The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association called the passage a “step in the right direction,” noting specifically the language within the package that would immediately double the death-tax exemption and put the tax on the path to extinction in five years. However, NCBA also expressed concern that the reform package would significantly limit the ability of some businesses from deducting their interest expenses. The National Council of Farmer Cooperates called passage of the bill “unfortunate,” as the organization says the reform package will raise taxes on farmers and co-ops across the country by eliminating the Section 199 deduction. And, The National Farmers Union said it was “alarmed” by the passage because the legislation would jeopardize farm bill funding, while increasing the federal debt and harming farmers and ranchers.

(USCoC) In a picture painted by Tom Donohue, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The U.S. unemployment rate is climbing. Crops in the heartland are rotting. Manufacturers are moving abroad. Consumer prices are rising. in his recent column in The Wall Street Journal examining the increasingly precarious state of play in the effort to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement. “NAFTA supports millions of American jobs, and with thoughtful updates it could create millions more. Renegotiations with Canada and Mexico launched in August, but the White House continues hinting it may withdraw the U.S. from the trade agreement altogether. These threats must be taken seriously. Quitting NAFTA would be an economic, political and national-security disaster.” While modernizing the 23-year-old NAFTA makes sense, withdrawing from the agreement would be a blow for the United States, one that would hit some states particularly hard. Ironically, those likely to suffer most would be Midwestern industrial states, heartland farm states like Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska, and border states, nearly all of which voted to elect President Trump.

You can read the full article here at https://www.uschamber.com/above-the-fold/which-states-would-be-hit-hardest-withdrawing-nafta

In a collaborative effort to safeguard Missouri agriculture, the Missouri Department of Agriculture today issued a 24c Special Local Need label for ENGENIA Herbicide, EPA Registration Number 7969-345 – SLN label MO-180001. The Department anticipates issuing similar labels for XTENDIMAX and FEXAPAN soon.

“Our intent in issuing the Special Local Need label is to protect this technology for the future,” Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn said. “We thoroughly reviewed the new label restrictions agreed upon by EPA and the registrants, and as much research data as possible to come to this decision that I believe will protect the product and the producers.”

According to the Special Local Need label, to apply ENGENIA to Dicamba-tolerant soybeans and Dicamba-tolerant cotton in Missouri, applicators must abide by the following restrictions:

· Restricted Use Pesticide – For sale to and use ONLY by certified applicators. Non-certified applicators are prohibited from applying this product.

· Training Requirement – Prior to the purchase and/or use of the product, certified applicators must complete mandatory Dicamba training provided by the University of Missouri Extension, which will be available soon. Training verification must be presented to the retail establishment, pesticide dealer or distributor upon taking possession of ENGENIA. For more information on training, visit the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s website at Agriculture.Mo.Gov/dicamba. Applicators are also encouraged to attend training provided by the registrants.

· Dicamba Notice of Application Form – Certified applicators must complete an online Dicamba Notice of Application form daily prior to each application. The blank Dicamba Notice of Application form can be found at Agriculture.Mo.Gov/dicamba/notice.

· Application Timing – The product cannot be applied before 7:30 a.m. or after 5:30 p.m.

· Cutoff Date –
o Use of ENGENIA in Dicamba-tolerant soybeans and Dicamba-tolerant cotton is prohibited after June 1, 2018, in the following southeast Missouri counties: Dunklin, Pemiscot, New Madrid, Stoddard, Scott, Mississippi, Butler, Ripley, Bollinger and Cape Girardeau.
o Use of ENGENIA in Dicamba-tolerant soybeans and Dicamba-tolerant cotton is prohibited after July 15, 2018, in all remaining Missouri counties.

These restrictions were determined based upon feedback the Department received from stakeholders and analysis of alleged crop injury complaints filed during the 2017 growing season.