The Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is mailing the 2017 Census of Agriculture to the nation’s producers this week. Conducted once every five years, the census aims to get a complete and accurate picture of American agriculture. Data collected in the census is used by farmers, trade associations, researchers, policymakers and others to help make decisions in community planning, farm assistance programs, farm advocacy and rural development, according to USDA. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the census “gives every producer the opportunity to be represented.” The census will be mailed in several phases through December. Farm operations of all sizes which produced and sold, or normally would have sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural product in 2017 are included in the census. The census response deadline is February 5th, 2018 and responding to the Census of Agriculture is required by law.

New items added to the list of negotiation objectives include eliminating Canadian tariffs on U.S. poultry as part of the next round of North American Free Trade Agreement talks. The next round of negotiations, scheduled for next month in Washington, D.C., will include the new objectives by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, according to meat industry publication Meatingplace. Lighthizer recently updated the objectives list to include the elimination of all remaining Canadian tariffs on imports of U.S. dairy, poultry and egg products, along with the elimination of “discriminatory barriers and unjustified technical barriers,” including those affecting U.S. grain and alcohol beverages, among other objectives. However, Lighthizer issued a statement last week that said he was “concerned about the lack of headway” in NAFTA talks.

A Canada-based financial group outlines trade without the North American Free Trade Agreement in a new report called “The Day After NAFTA.” BMO Financial Group of Montreal published the report that says the Canadian food and beverage industry would be highly vulnerable without NAFTA, and that Canadian and U.S. crop producers would face a moderate level of vulnerability. Specifically, Canadian food and beverage producers would face among the highest U.S. tariffs of all industries post-NAFTA, according to the Hagstrom Report. For beverage and tobacco exports to the U.S., Canada could see tariff rates approach 20 percent. Food exports would see U.S. tariffs return to around 4.5 percent, far lower than vice tariffs, but still the third-highest of all industries. However, the report points out that less than 20 percent of Canadian crop products are sold into the U.S. marketplace, which would limit the impact on industry costs and profitability. Meanwhile, U.S. crop producers would also be affected, as the report says they would face tariffs averaging nearly four percent on exports to Canada and a lofty 11 percent on exports to Mexico.

Mexico’s agriculture sanitation authority has revoked Monsanto’s permit to commercialize genetically modified soybeans in seven states, a move Monsanto calls unjustified. Monsanto says in a statement that the permit had been withdrawn on unwarranted legal and technical grounds, according to Reuters. The company said it would take the necessary steps to safeguard its rights and those of farmers using the technology. Officials from Mexico in a document say the permit was withdrawn due to the detection of transgenic Monsanto soy in areas where it was not authorized. However, Monsanto rejected that argument, saying in its statement that authorities had not done a proper analysis.

Trade will top the agenda between China and Canada next week during Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to China. The visit is aimed at promoting a “progressive trade agenda” that Canada says will “create good, middle-class jobs,” according to Bloomberg News. The trip comes as Canada is in the midst of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. and Mexico. China was Canada’s second-largest trade partner behind the U.S. last year, with nearly $70 billion in total trade. Merchandise shipments to China rose four percent to almost $21 billion in 2016, led by forest and agricultural products. Officials from China say a potential bilateral trade deal with Canada would boost economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region.

The new generation of young farmers expects to overcome major barriers to their success in agriculture, according to a freshly released national survey.

Young farmers expect to tackle barriers including access to land, affordable health care, and mounting student loan debt in their quest to farm. However, the 2017 National Young Farmer Survey says success will require deliberate policy change at all levels of government.

Released by the National Young Farmers Coalition, the survey collected data from more than 3,500 young and aspiring farmers under 40 years of age. The report found that the top challenge cited by young farmers is land access, particularly finding and affording land on a farm income. It is also the main reason why farmers quit farming and why aspiring farmers haven’t yet started, according to the survey. With the release of the survey, the coalition is calling on Congress to enact a slate of policy reforms it calls the “Young Farmer Agenda.” The agenda includes addressing land access, student debt management, and increasing the skilled agricultural workforce.

The survey can be found at www.youngfarmers.org.