A vote by the International Trade Commission confirms the U.S. biodiesel industry has suffered because of unfairly subsidized imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia. In a case filed by the National Biodiesel Board, the Commission voted 4-0 Tuesday. NBB called the vote “important progress” to addressing the trade issue. Last month, producers testified on the volume and price effects of biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia, and the related impacts to the industry at a hearing before the ITC commissioners. The NBB Fair Trade Coalition filed petitions with the Commerce Department and the ITC in March to address a flood of subsidized and dumped imports from Argentina and Indonesia that has resulted in market share losses and depressed prices for domestic producers. Biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia surged by 464 percent from 2014 to 2016, taking 18.3 percentage points of market share from U.S. manufacturers.

The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer dropped seven points in November, signaling a slump in U.S. agricultural producers’ confidence compared to a month earlier. At 128, the measure of producer optimism was the second weakest observed this year, and just four points above the lowest reading in 2017, of 124, last March. However, organizers say that although indicating producers were less confident about the agricultural economy than in October, the survey still suggest agricultural producers remain more optimistic than they were prior to the fall 2016 election. The November slide in producer sentiment was driven by producers taking a less optimistic view of the future. The Index of Future Expectations declined ten points compared to October as the index fell to 127. However, the Index of Current Conditions reading of 129 in November was unchanged from October. A rating below 100 is negative, while a rating above 100 indicates positive sentiment regarding the agriculture industry.

Biting and sucking lice are external parasites commonly found on cattle this time of year. Cattle lice cause reduced weight gain and other health issues resulting from excessive scratching or rubbing, anemia and increased susceptibility to infectious diseases.
These small, cool-season pests rest, breed and feed on the animals they infest. They are spread by direct contact from one infested animal to another. Lice cannot live for more than a few days off animals and will seek out a new host to survive.
Because cattle lice live out their entire lifecycle on cattle, even treated cattle can be vulnerable to re-infestation. That’s because many pour-on-treatments and endectocides particularly those that lack an insect growth regulator (IGR)—require a follow-up treatment to kill the eggs the first treatment left behind. Without initial use of an IGR or that follow-up treatment, those eggs can turn into adults that can continue the lice lifecycle. Understanding this lifecycle is critical to controlling lice, and to maximizing the benefits of a product that includes an IGR, which kills the lice eggs before they hatch. Unlike other pests, lice reproduce more in the cold weather. Cattle also tend to bunch together to stay warm, which quickens the spread of lice throughout the herd. A single female louse on an animal in September can result in a million lice by January if left untreated.

For more information on this and other parasites you can go to https://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/UCM347442.pdf

A survey of farmers in Illinois shows many feel the overall financial health of their farms will remain the same next year, as it has this year. The survey of Illinois Farm Bureau members found that 59 percent say they expect financial health to remain the same as in 2017, while 33 percent say they expect the overall financial health of their farms to decline in 2018. Combined, 92 percent of respondents say financial health of their farms will decline or merely remain the same. Illinois Farm Bureau senior economist Mike Doherty says commodity prices, input costs and the overall farm economy are all factors that have been deteriorating farm income, adding that “farm income is unlikely to improve.” Meanwhile, 52 percent of the 275 respondents expect 2018 farm expenses to be higher than they were in 2017, while 48 percent expect them to be lower. In response to the farm economy, 85 percent of the farmers plan to delay equipment purchases, and 26 percent plan to reduce hired labor costs, negotiate lower cash rents and buy less expensive seed.

The Senate tax bill passed over the weekend does not include a deduction that farm cooperatives lobbied to keep in the tax reform package. The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives says the Domestic Production Activities Deduction, also known as the Section 199 deduction, means farmers may end up paying more taxes. Chuck Conner, NCFC CEO, previously said that Section 199 allows farmer cooperatives to pass nearly $2 billion nationally directly back to farmers across rural America, and farmers can then deduct their share of the Section 199 benefit on their farms’ tax forms. Farmer co-ops support tax reform, but not the elimination of the Section 199 deduction. More than 180 agriculture groups signed a letter last month to House and Senate leadership expressing the importance of the deduction to agriculture.

South Korea trade officials announced Monday the government will submit a plan to renegotiate the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement to the nations National Assembly government body. South Korea’s Trade Minister met with officials from 20 ministries and government regarding KORUS, and the plans to renegotiate the trade agreement. A senior trade official told the Korea Herald newspaper: “We hope to submit the plan to lawmakers possibly within this month.” Submitting a plan would effectively wrap up the domestic procedures needed for opening talks with Washington. However, agriculture in both countries appears concerned to reopening the trade agreement. South Korean farmers and stockbreeders have opposed any additional market opening to the U.S., claiming they suffered substantial damage over the past five years. Meanwhile, South Korea is the third largest importer of U.S. corn, and Korea is currently the fifth largest U.S. agricultural export market, overall.