Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn issued a Notice of Release from the Stop Sale, Use or Removal Order of all products containing Dicamba labeled for agricultural use on Sept. 29, 2017.
The Special Local Need registrations for XTENDIMAX™ with VaporGrip™ Technology, ENGENIA™ Herbicide and DUPONT™ FEXAPAN™ PLUS VAPORGRIP™ TECHNOLOGY HERBICIDE will remain in effect until Dec. 1, 2017.
Older Dicamba products including, but not limited to, BANVEL HERBICIDE, CLARITY HERBICIDE, STRUT HERBICIDE and RIFLE HERBICIDE are not labeled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in Dicamba tolerant cotton and soybean crops. The use of older formulations of Dicamba products in Dicamba tolerant cotton and soybean crops will be in violation of Section 281.101 RSMo and subject to enforcement actions of up to $10,000 per violation.
Looking to the future, the Department has been working closely with colleagues from other states, university staff, farmers, industry and commodity organizations to determine the appropriate path forward.
We will have more information for you as it becomes available.
Brazil’s agriculture ministry says that the ban on fresh Brazilian beef exports to the United States may be lifted in October. The ban was first implemented in June. A Reuters article says it would end after the U.S. finishes evaluating the responses on documents sent in response to questions raised earlier this year during a U.S. veterinary mission to Brazil. Brazil exports three percent of its overall beef exports to the U.S., but America is seen as a leader in food safety and other countries will take their cues if America ends the ban. The prediction on the end of the ban came after Washington D.C. informed Brazil it would allow thermprocessed beef imports to resume from five beef plants in the country. Back in March, Brazil unveiled an investigation into meatpackers accused of bribing inspectors, which led many countries to ban Brazilian beef imports. While many countries have already lifted their ban, the U.S. has not yet done so, saying there is no timeline in place for lifting the ban as of yet.
Pan Am Post Dot Com says the U.S. will be putting forth controversial proposals during the next round of North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. The U.S. will allegedly be putting forth proposals for what it calls “seasonal windows” when it comes to agriculture trading with Mexico and Canada. The article says this type of a proposal would be a form of “managed trade” by establishing seasonal ag trade restrictions in North America. The president of the Mexican National Agriculture and Livestock Council offered an example of what that means. He says America wants to establish conditions saying that when Georgia produces strawberries, Mexico either won’t be able to export strawberries to the U.S. or would only be allowed to put the same amount of strawberries into the marketplace that Georgia has. Ag trade hasn’t been limited by seasonal windows since 2008, when a period of 15 years of gradual reduction was established. Mexico’s general coordinator of International Affairs says the Mexican government and producers won’t even consider discussing the proposal.
Negotiators in the North American Free Trade Agreement talks say they’re making progress after the third round of talks concluded Wednesday. A Bloomberg report says that talk of progress comes as tensions grow between the U.S. and Canada over aircraft. The U.S. imposed trade duties on Canadian-made aircraft, inflaming tensions with Canada. The nations did make some progress in the talks, including closing out the chapter on small and medium-sized businesses. The U.S. Commerce Department made the decision to impose duties on Bombardier’s marquee jetliner on the final day of negotiations. Canada’s Foreign Minister calls the Trump Administration “protectionist,” saying that fact is no big secret to the rest of the world. At the same time, she says the Bombardier issue is separate from the NAFTA negotiations. Negotiators did say they made progress in several different areas, including telecommunications, digital trade, and state-owned enterprises. The chapter on competition will probably be agreed on before the next round of talks begins.
For the first time, the United States has dropped from the top spot in a global ranking of how well countries can feed their own people. A new ranking shows Ireland now as the world’s most food secure nation, with the U.S. the second most food secure nation. Bloomberg reports the drop in food security for the U.S. can be attributed to concerns about agricultural research spending and government policy trends, which may make the world’s top food exporter a less-certain place to get a meal. Researchers for the Global Food Security Index say Ireland has improved its food affordability, availability, quality and safety over the last year. When including climate as a factor of food security, the U.S. fell even further to fourth on the list. This is the sixth annual ranking of food security by the Economist Intelligence Unit, a London-based economics group. Overall, global food security declined for the first time in five years, largely because of increases in the number of refugees, weather disasters and a decline in global political stability.
South Korea’s Trade minister is meeting with lawmakers in Washington, D.C. this week, ahead of a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer next month. Lighthizer will meet with Korea next month to discuss a “path forward” for KORUS, The U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. Korea’s Trade Minister has met with agriculture sector lawmakers, including Nebraska Republican Deb Fischer, to discuss KORUS, along with Iowa’s Chuck Grassley, according to Politico. Fischer maintained support for KORUS, “because of the great economic benefits it provides” agriculture. South Korea will host the next trade meeting with the U.S. on October 4th. The Trump administration is seeking to amend the five-year-old deal to address the country’s growing deficit in trade with South Korea.
The American Farm Bureau Federation says tax reform framework released Wednesday includes important principles for agriculture. Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said in a statement that AFBF was encouraged by the inclusion of lower tax rates for individuals who own businesses, elimination of the death tax and some business interest deductibility. However, AFBF says any tax reform package should also include the continuation of cash accounting and like-kind exchanges, unlimited stepped-up basis and lower capital gains taxes. President Trump announced the tax reform framework at the Farm Bureau building at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Meanwhile, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association welcomed the tax plan, saying cattle producers are “very pleased” with the President’s plan.
