Russia has formally joined the World Trade Organization – but to guarantee U.S. access to the market-opening and legal aspects that are part of the Russia-WTO agreement – Permanent Normal Trade Relations for Russia must be enacted by Congress. The Senate is scheduled to vote on Russia PNTR this week. The American Farm Bureau Federation is urging the Senate to pass the legislation to grant PNTR with Russia. Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman says U.S. farmers will have more certain and predictable market access as a result of Russia’s commitment not to raise tariffs on any products above the negotiated rates and to apply international food safety standards in a uniform and transparent manner.

According to Farm Bureau – Russia has a strong capacity for growth in food imports from the U.S. For 2012 – U.S. ag exports to Russia are forecast at 1.4-billion dollars. Russia has potential for significant increases in poultry, pork and beef consumption – which are the top U.S. agricultural exports to Russia. With this potential – Stallman says obtaining PNTR with Russia is even more important. He says Russia’s membership in the WTO will provide significant commercial opportunities for U.S. agriculture

As Congress tries to find a way to avoid the fiscal cliff – farm groups are asking that they also provide a new farm bill. While many farmers are still covered by crop insurance and other programs until next planting season – the expiration of the 2008 Farm Bill left dairy farmers without a safety net in place if milk prices fall. With the price of feed soaring – many feel they’re facing their own cliff. Dairy farmers are price takers – not price makers. A minimum price for milk is set by the federal government – but that price hasn’t been keeping pace with increased prices for feed or energy. The Milk Income Loss Contract program helped – paying farmers when the milk price dropped too low or feed prices went too high. Chris Galen with National Milk Producers Federation says the new farm bill includes a voluntary insurance program that would replace MILC. He says it would be better for dairy farms of all sizes. He adds that without a new farm bill – or an extension of the old one – we will revert to a 1949 law that would almost double the price of milk. Experts say customers could pay six to eight-dollars for a gallon of milk.

DENVER (AP) — Federal officials are considering a pipeline to pump water from the Missouri River to western states to deal with increasing overuse of the Colorado River.

ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) — The northern South Dakota city of Aberdeen has reduced the number of cattle that a new processing plant is allowed to slaughter because Northern Beef Packers has fallen behind on installing wastewater equipment.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — In this year of near-record drought, hay is becoming a precious commodity. Now, it is being targeted by thieves.

Dr. Gary Fellows – BASF Plant Health Technical Services Manager – says America needs more qualified aerial applicators. He says scholarships from BASF and the National Agricultural Aviation Association provide students with the opportunity to receive the education they need to enter the field. Justin Mook of Colorado and Kippy Foltyn of North Dakota were awarded NAAA/BASF Agricultural Aviation Scholarships of five-thousand dollars and 25-hundred dollars respectively. These scholarships are the product of a partnership between BASF and NAAA – a partnership that aims to build the future of aerial application. NAAA Executive Director Andrew Moore says the Agricultural Aviation Scholarship has helped ensure the pipeline remains well stocked with competent and capable professional ag pilots.

Mook has a private pilot’s license and is pursuing his commercial license. After he completes his current program at a helicopter flight school in Colorado Springs – he hopes to begin his agricultural pilot training. Foltyn attended Ag Flight Pilot Training LLC in Bainbridge, Georgia. He plans to continue his education and become an aerial applicator.

A class at the University of Missouri is designed to teach students the skills they need to overcome the financial and societal pressures they face when going back to the family farm or starting their own farms. The class is called Returning to the Farm and it’s taught by Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics Kevin Moore. Moore says students who are prepared to face the first five years of business can be successful in the farming industry. The class focuses on subjects like financial planning and developing business plans and features visits from farmers and professors who cover topics such as estate planning, business organization and tax management. This is all in an effort to address the need for younger farmers to enter the business. If younger adults are going to continue to choose not to go into the farming industry – Moore says we could run into a problem within the next decade or two – due to the lack of farmers in the U.S. He points out only five-percent of principal farm operators nationwide are under the age of 35. With one-third of U.S. farmers now at 65 or older – he says time is running short.

House Ag Chairman Frank Lucas says a deal to avoid going off the fiscal cliff could enable Congress to pass a farm bill in 2013. Lucas says there are two options for dealing with the farm bill along with the national deficit. One is to make the farm bill part of the fiscal package and the other to write provisions into the package to extend the 2008 Farm Bill – setting a target for budget savings the new bill would have to achieve. Lucas says there is a way to work it all out without falling off the cliff on dairy policy come January 1st while still allowing Congress to get its work done. However – he says it requires the Speaker and the President to achieve some understandings that everybody will show some willingness to support.