Nearly 200 farmers have obtained temporary restraining orders against the Arkansas in-season ban on dicamba use. A DTN report says judges in three counties have granted restraining orders in response to last-minutes complaints filed by farmers. The office of State Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is filing appeals of those decisions to the state Supreme Court. In the meantime, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office says those farmers are free to use dicamba while the orders are in place. Nicole Ryan, communications director for the attorney general, says the state Plant Board will enforce the federal label requirements for the farmers who are spraying dicamba while the country restraining orders are in place. “The attorney general will be seeking expedited stays from the supreme court, which would halt the judges’ decisions until the appeals are decided,” Ryan says. In spite of the temporary restraining orders, Monsanto has opted not to sell its XtendiMax herbicide with Vapor Grip Technology, even though it’s registered for use in Arkansas on soybeans and cotton. Spokesman Kyle Richards says the company needs a stable and predictable environment before they’re able to make their product available to growers that want to use it. The Arkansas State Plant Board made it illegal to use dicamba between April 15 and October 31.
Category: Agriculture
Peterson: Pelosi Didn’t Direct Farm Bill, but Ryan May Have
Republicans in the House have accused Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of pushing Democrats on the House Agricultural Committee to oppose the House version of the farm bill. The biggest objection is over proposed changes to the nutrition title. However, ranking member Collin Peterson of Minnesota told the Hagstrom Report that he hadn’t discussed the farm bill with her until last Tuesday evening. Peterson described Pelosi as surprised that Republicans accused her of being behind the Democrats opposition to the farm bill. The House Ag Committee approved the bill on a party-line vote of 26-20, with all Democrats opposed. Pelosi had issued a statement earlier criticizing the farm bill. However, Peterson said he’d told her they would talk about the bill when he had something to tell her, and that was the Tuesday before the markup. Peterson says Pelosi was not aware of the detailed politics in the committee Democrats’ opposition to the bill. Peterson says he’s seen evidence that the retiring Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, is behind the changes to the nutrition title, which attach work requirements to the food stamp program. He says Ryan sees it as his welfare reform bill before he leaves Congress. Peterson says, “The Speaker put this in the bill because he couldn’t get anything else done with welfare reform.”
Friday’s closing grain bids
April 20th, 2018
St Joseph |
|
Yellow Corn |
3.52 – 3.62 |
White Corn |
no bid |
Soybeans |
9.87 – 9.94 |
LifeLine Foods |
3.63 |
|
|
Atchison |
|
Yellow Corn |
3.65 – 3.66 |
Soybeans |
9.83 |
Hard Wheat |
4.37 |
Soft Wheat |
3.73 |
|
|
Kansas City Truck Bids |
|
Yellow Corn |
3.69 |
White Corn |
3.76 – 3.82 |
Soybeans |
10.09 – 10.14 |
Hard Wheat |
4.83 |
Soft Wheat |
4.43 |
Sorghum |
6.01 |
For more information, contact the 680 KFEQ Farm Department.
816-233-8881.
Japan-EU Trade Agreement Threatens U.S. Pork Exports to Japan
The Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service says a Japan-EU trade agreement threatens U.S. pork exports to Japan. Japan and the EU announced finalization of negotiations on the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement in December of last year. For 2017, Japan imported $1.68 billion of pork from the U.S. and $1.69 billion from the European Union. Japan ranked as the world’s largest importer of pork and pork products in 2017, growing imports from $4.9 billion in 2016 to $5.2 billion in 2017. USDA says the trade agreement between Japan and the EU, similar to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, marks a change in trade with Japan eliminating tariffs on more than 60 percent of its pork and pork product tariff lines within 12 years. Additionally, the agreement has established a volume-based safeguard for EU pork imports that will be phased out over 11 years. USDA says larger exports of European processed pork products can be expected under the agreement, and USDA says agricultural exporters from the United States will face challenges as the EU gains preferential tariffs under the agreement.
Trump: Not Interested in Rejoining TPP
President Donald Trump says “I don’t want to go back into” the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump told reporters “the media has not covered the TPP correctly.” President Trump however did say that “if they offered us a deal that I can’t refuse, on behalf of the United States, I would do it,” according to the Hagstrom Report. The comments follow a previous statement by the President on Twitter that he would be interested in rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, and comments made during a White House meeting last week, where farm-state senators say Trump told them his administration would explore rejoining the trade agreement. Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who attended the meeting and confirmed the comments, added that rejoining TPP is the “best thing” the U.S. can do to “push back” against China. As for trade with Japan, Trump said he would prefer “a bilateral deal, a deal directly with Japan.”
Conaway Hopeful House Will Consider Farm Bill in May
House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway is hopeful the U.S. House will consider the 2018 farm bill next month. Conaway told reporters he wants to bring the bill to the full U.S. House in May, but says the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act will be taking up time on the floor in coming weeks, according to Politico. The bill faces a partisan divide as no Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee voted in favor of the legislation earlier this week. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says the bill does not include enough support for agricultural producers, and that the nutrition title proposals would waste tax payer money and increase hunger and poverty. In the Senate, Ranking Agriculture Committee Democrat Debbie Stabenow says the House version of the bill is “impossible to pass.” She alleges that House Agriculture Committee leadership has “abandoned” the broad, partisan coalition that passed the 2014 Farm Bill. Stabenow says she “remains committed” to working Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts to “write a bipartisan bill” that focuses on “farmers, families, and rural communities.”
Thursday’s closing grain bids
April 19th, 2018
St Joseph |
|
Yellow Corn |
3.57 – 3.67 |
White Corn |
no bid |
Soybeans |
9.91 – 9.97 |
LifeLine Foods |
3.68 |
|
|
Atchison |
|
Yellow Corn |
3.70 – 3.72 |
Soybeans |
9.92 |
Hard Wheat |
4.50 |
Soft Wheat |
3.86 |
|
|
Kansas City Truck Bids |
|
Yellow Corn |
3.67 – 3.72 |
White Corn |
3.81 – 3.84 |
Soybeans |
10.12 – 10.17 |
Hard Wheat |
4.85 |
Soft Wheat |
4.42 |
Sorghum |
6.11 |
For more information, contact the 680 KFEQ Farm Department.
816-233-8881.
Missouri agriculture photo contest captures best of farm, rural life
The Missouri Department of Agriculture launched the 9th annual Focus on Missouri Agriculture photo contest, asking Missourians to share the unique stories and images of agriculture through photographs.
The contest, which runs through June 15, is an opportunity for amateur photographers across the state to submit their best images of Missouri agriculture. That image may take shape through a breathtaking farm landscape, an aerial shot of harvest, a farm tractor that has been in the family for years or a fun moment showcasing farm life captured on a mobile device.
The Focus on Missouri Agriculture Photo Contest is open to Missouri’s amateur photographers of all ages. Participants may enter up to three photos in each of the six categories. The photo contest categories are: Beauty of the Farm, Faces of the Farm, The Farmer’s Life, Pride of the Farm and Farm Selfie. Children’s Barnyard, a special category for budding photographers ages 12 and under, is back for the 9th annual contest as well.
Entries will be judged on visual impact, creativity, memorable content and image quality. The contest offers prizes and many chances to win thanks to the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Missouri Grown program. A $50 Missouri Grown Market gift certificate will be awarded to the first place winner in each of the six categories. A Missouri Grown Market gift certificate, valued at $100, will be awarded to the Best of Show. Category winners and Best of Show will also receive professional canvas prints of their winning shot.
Winners will be announced in mid-July, and winning images will be displayed during the Missouri State Fair in the Agriculture Building, Aug. 9-19, 2018.
For more information, visit the Missouri Dept. of Agriculture’s website.
RFA: Early Evidence of Ethanol Demand Destruction
The Renewable Fuels Association says its found evidence that RIN waivers are destroying ethanol demand. The Environmental Protection Agency has been handing out hardship waivers “like candy,” according to refining executives. The waivers grant refiners a pass on RINs, the mechanism by which Renewable Fuel Standard compliance is tracked. Renewable Fuels Association executive vice president Geoff Cooper says the credits also provide a strong economic incentive for the expansion of ethanol blending beyond E10. Thus, when RIN prices collapse, “the incentive to expand ethanol blending is also weakened.” Cooper says the waivers and other actions by the EPA are rapidly destroying demand for ethanol and corn. A settlement with a bankrupt refiner, the waiver exemption, and failure to enforce 2016 statutory requirements, Cooper says, “effectively reduced the 2016 and 2017 RFS volumes each by one billion gallons or more.”
House Ag Committee Advances Farm Bill
Washington, D.C. – The House Agriculture Committee today passed out of committee the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R.2) – critical legislation to address the economic challenges facing the nation’s farmers and ranchers, while making historic investments in opportunities for SNAP recipients. Upon passage, Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) issued the below remarks:
“Today’s vote was about America’s farmers and ranchers. It was about a better future and greater opportunities for SNAP recipients. It was about fulfilling an obligation to lead, rather than standing on the sidelines.
“I’m disappointed that my Democrat colleagues have turned their backs on America’s heartland – that they’ve chosen partisan politics over the three years of bipartisan work in this committee. Democrats halted talks over their objection to requiring work-capable adults to either find employment or receive free training for 20 hours per week. Yet, despite this turn of events, I remain hopeful. When House Democrats pushed a partisan farm bill that raised taxes in 2008 over Republican objections, Republicans worked alongside Democrats to fend off hostile amendments aimed against the legislation on the House floor and worked in conference committee to achieve a bipartisan farm bill. I am hopeful Democrats will not hold the nation’s farmers and ranchers hostage in this process over the SNAP work and training requirements, which will provide SNAP beneficiaries not just a benefit, but a better future that only a job can provide.
“But we’ll continue fighting, we won’t settle for the status quo – because America needs a farm bill. America deserves a farm bill. And I look forward to taking this vote to the people’s House – to debating these policies on the floor and to sharing our vision with the American people. We have cleared this hurdle and will deliver a strong, new farm bill on time.”