The National FFA Organization last week announced record-high student membership of 649,355. Current membership is three percent higher than 2015’s 692,000 some members. FFA says the number of FFA chapters also grew, increasing from 7,757 to 7,859. The top six student membership states are Texas, California, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio and Missouri. Interest in FFA and agricultural education also continues to grow, as membership continues to increase. Student membership was not the organization’s only growth opportunity in 2016. National FFA Alumni membership grew to 225,891 members, growing from 62,000 some in 2015. This year, graduating high school seniors automatically received alumni membership, which the growth numbers reflect.

The American Journal of Transportation calls Russia a “grain superpower” as wheat exports from Russia surge. The Journal says grains are propelling Russia’s agriculture into a renaissance, charged by the 45 percent drop in the ruble against the dollar over the last few years and bumper crops. Last season, Russia topped the U.S. in wheat exports for the first time in decades and is expected to extend those gains to displace the European Union from the top spot this year. Wheat exports from Russia are projected around 30 million metric tons, and President Vladimir Putin of Russia last month urged the country to not hurry in moving excess grain. Russia’s Agriculture Ministry says the nation’s all-grain crop was estimated at 110 to 115 million metric tons, the largest overall grain crop in 25 years. The EU is also enjoying gains in wheat exports. The gains by Russia and the EU are coming mostly at the expense of the United States, which has seen its share of the wheat market steadily moving lower in recent years.

Former American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman has joined the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Board of Directors. The Foundation announced last week that it was expanding the board to include six new representatives. Stallman and the five other appointees will serve five-year terms. Stallman has also served on numerous state and federal panels, advising on economic issues including farm and trade policy. He was appointed by the President to the White House Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations and served from 2007 through 2016. The new directors join a roster of 19, including Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who serves as an ex-officio member. The addition is the largest expansion of the Board since the inaugural members were appointed following the creation of the Foundation as part of the 2014 Farm Bill. The Foundation was created to support food and agriculture research.

ABC network, along with employees Diane Sawyer and Jim Avila are asking a judge to dismiss a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit regarding the networks reporting on lean, finely textured beef products. ABC had nicknamed the product “pink slime,” which Beef Products Inc. claims led to significant losses. BPI filed the lawsuit in 2012 claiming the reporting led to the closure of three plants and roughly 700 layoffs. However, in the request for dismissal, ABC argues that the number of reports was driven primarily by questions from viewers. The Washington Post reports ABC’s argument counters the lawsuit’s characterization of the network’s coverage as a “vicious, concerted disinformation campaign against BPI.” Court documents recently filed by ABC argue the work was done in the public’s interest as consumers were unaware that the product at the time was present in 70 percent of the ground beef sold in supermarkets. The case is currently slated to go to trial in June.

Brazil recently paved the way for imports of U.S. corn following a short corn crop, according to industry sources. Regulators in Brazil last week met and authorized outstanding biotech products needed to open Brazil for U.S. corn exports. The U.S. Grains Council says Brazil has faced a significant shortfall in its current corn crop, particularly in its second winter crop; with an estimated 16 million metric tons less produced this year than the last growing season. This has halved exports and prompted imports from regional producers Argentina and Paraguay. To date, the United States has not been able to fill the demand due to lack of approvals of some biotech products used by U.S. farmers. However, the Grains Council says last week’s move by Brazil opens the doors for U.S. corn. Still, imported corn may be limited to specific use in Brazil, restricting the export potential.

Trade negotiators for the U.S. and the European Union left scheduled talks in New York last week with little progress made regarding the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. U.S. negotiators even rejected an EU request for three days of agriculture talks. The National Pork Producers Council, which supports TTIP, said the group is skeptical of father progress of the trade deal based on the stubbornness of the EU on various issues. The 28-country bloc is willing to eliminate tariffs on nearly all goods, for example, but the EU announced it is unwilling to remove tariffs on beef, poultry and pork. The EU has indicated it would allow some market access for “sensitive” products, including meat if the United States agrees to the EU’s demands on reciprocal access and on protections for products labeled with geographical indications. NPPC says the future of TTIP is now more uncertain. Last month, EU trade ministers expressed doubts about getting the trade deal completed before the end of the Obama administration and several called for a pause in negotiations. No talks are scheduled beyond October.

(Missourinet) – The Missouri Farm Bureau’s top priority in November’s general election is passage of a sales tax extension for Missouri’s parks, soils and water conservation.

Missouri voters can cast ballots in November on a one-tenth-of-one-percent sales tax extension for parks, soils and water conservation. The tax was created through a constitutional amendment, and was first approved by Missouri voters in 1984. Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst says voters have renewed it three times: in 1988, 1996 and 2006.

“So it’s extremely important to anybody who uses our parks system, our beautiful parks system, or anybody who drinks water in the state of Missouri, because this makes a real difference in both preserving our soil and protecting our water supply,” Hurst says.

Hurst says teaming up with environmentalists, like the Sierra Club, is important in Constitutional Amendment One’s passage.

“Those relationships, those friendships, that we’re building with environmental groups are important as we work on other issues,” Hurst says.

Supporters say the tax would continue to generate about $90 million annually. Governor Jay Nixon (D) says the tax has helped prevent about 177 million tons of soil from eroding into state waterways.

Hog prices have fallen far below breakeven levels and there are worries about the number of hogs headed to market in the fall. A Purdue University report says the numbers may exceed packer plant capacity and a recent USDA September Hog and Pig report didn’t help the situation as numbers are three percent higher this year. Animal numbers in the heaviest categories were up four percent. The number that brought the greatest concern in the September report was packer head counts were up by eight percent. Slaughter capacity is about two percent higher than the headcounts over the past couple of weeks, but the USDA expects slaughter numbers to ease by the end of the year. If those USDA predictions are correct, packers should have enough capacity. Two new processing operations are scheduled to open in Iowa and Michigan in 2017, increasing slaughter capacity by another six percent. The recent squeeze on slaughter capacity has meant stronger packer margins. The increased capacity next year should reduce packer margins and provide higher prices at the farm level. However, that doesn’t help this fall and winter as losses are expected to be as large as they’ve been since 2012. Experts say expected losses in 2017 may lead to ideas of shrinking the breeding herd, and that could lead to higher prices returning in 2018.