A group of French delegates visited with the National Corn Growers Association this week to further understand U.S. corn farming. The delegation was visiting the United States to learn more about low carbon technology. The meetings were designed to inform the delegates on U.S. corn farming practices and ethanol. The delegation, organized by the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, examined how U.S. agriculture reduces output of greenhouse gas emissions and examined U.S. perspectives on promoting a low-carbon economy. Through discussion, NCGA says the group looked at how growers are becoming more aware of how their continuous improvement translates into shrinking the carbon footprint of corn. Additionally, they discussed soil health and how modern agriculture practices can allow corn production to become a significant carbon sink.

China’s State Administration of Grain in a statement this week confirmed the country plans to end its corn stockpiling program. Pro Farmers First Thing Today reports China will move towards a program that will subsidize corn growers and encourage commercial firms to buy grain from farmers at market prices. This effort is aimed at improving efficiency on farms and bringing domestic prices more in line with international prices, slowing imports. Chinese corn prices are typically 30 percent to 50 percent above the international market. The new policy will take effect at the start of the 2016-2017 marketing year in October. China has already ended stockpiling programs for cotton and soybeans and the government says it will look into reforming its two remaining such programs for wheat and rice.

The National Farmers Union is now accepting Beginning Farmer Institute applications. The 2016-2017 program class offers hands-on training regarding many of the challenges beginning farmers may face in their careers, such as business planning, access to capital, land acquisition and marketing. Training sessions are planned in Washington D.C. and California. Applications for the 2016-2017 class must be postmarked by April 30th, and the class roster will be announced on June 10th. More information about the NFU Beginning Farmer Institute is available online at www dot nfu dot org (www.nfu.org).

For the first time since 2004, Canada can now export fresh poultry meat to Mexico. Mexico reopened its borders to Canada last week for fresh poultry meat including chicken, turkey and duck. Ag Canada reports the resumption of imports is still subject to “limited” avian flu-related restrictions, but the Canadian government is working with Mexican authorities to remove those restrictions. Mexico had closed its ports to the Canadian products in 2004 following Canada’s first outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza when H7N3 hit commercial poultry farms in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service will invest $41 million in a three-year initiative to support farmers in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana working to improve water quality in the Western Lake Erie Basin. NRCS Chief Jason Weller announced the initiative aimed at helping farmers implement conservation measures to reduce runoff from farms entering the region’s waterways. The funding expands on current financial assistance available to farmers in the basin. The funding will help farmers in the basin meet the goal of reducing runoff by 40 percent, as set by a joint agreement between the U.S. and Canada. NRCS also released a new report through its Conservation Effects Assessment Project that evaluates the impacts of voluntary conservation in the Lake Erie Basin, and conservation treatment needs. The report, based on farmer survey data, shows voluntary conservation is making significant headway in reducing nutrient and sediment loss from farms. However, NRCS notes, there is an opportunity to improve conservation management across the basin, and no single conservation solution will meet the needs of each field and farm.

Reports from Chinese media indicate the nation will scrap its corn stockpiling scheme. Pro Farmers First Thing Today reports China will eliminate its nine-year-old corn stockpiling scheme and will instead allow the market to determine domestic corn prices. A Chinese television station reports that China will directly subsidize farmers and stop stockpiling grain beginning this fall. Beijing has made no official announcement regarding any such change, though there has been talk the country would shift to a more market-driven policy. China currently holds massive state reserves that form the largest corn stockpile in the world.