READ the NAFB’s National Ag News for Friday, February 21st
Sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation
EU Sets a Target Date for U.S. Trade Deal
Phil Hogan, European Union Trade Chief, says he’s looking to have a trade deal in place with the Trump Administration and the U.S. by March 18. Politico says he’s working on a package of agreements for EU leaders to present to Trump in the coming weeks. Among the potential concessions the EU may be willing to make are speeding up the approval process for certain Genetically Modified Organisms, as well as allowing U.S. imports of tallow, which is a form of beef or sheep fat. Why March 18th? That’s when higher U.S. retaliatory tariffs on Airbus planes are set to take effect. The Trump Administration last week raised duties from 10 percent to 15 percent but suspended implementing the increase. Hogan says the move by Washington, as well as the decision to not raise tariffs on EU farm goods, was seen as a positive sign that the U.S. is ready to make a deal. The U.S. also didn’t do anything to increase the 25 percent duties in place on European food and alcohol products.
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Hormel Eliminating Ractopamine from Hog Supplies
Hormel Foods is getting rid of ractopamine (rack-TOH-pah-meen), a growth drug banned by China, from its hog supply. Hormel is joining rival companies like Tyson Foods and JBS in looking to make more meat sales to China, which is in the middle of wrestling with a large shortage of pork. Hormel isn’t going to accept hogs that have been fed or otherwise exposed to ractopamine after April first. Tyson Foods and JBS USA took that step last year. The companies’ moves ramped up the competition for the increased pork demand from China, where the outbreak of African Swine Fever has decimated their herds. In a statement announcing the move, Hormel says, “We have been actively monitoring the changing global market dynamics for several years and believe this decision will further position us to meet growing international demand.” Ractopamine is used in some countries to raise leaner pigs, but China doesn’t allow its use or tolerate residues in its imported meats. The European Union also bans ractopamine.
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Perdue Announces New Innovation Initiative for USDA
Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the Agriculture Innovation Agenda, which is a department-wide initiative to help better position U.S. ag to meet future global demands. The initiative will align resources, programs, and research to help stimulate innovation so that American agriculture can achieve the goal of increasing production by 40 percent while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050. “We know we have a challenge facing us: to meet future food, fiber, fuel, and feed demands with finite resources,” Perdue says. “USDA’s Agriculture Innovation Agenda is our opportunity to define American agriculture’s role to feed everyone and do right as a key player in the solution to this challenge.” He calls the new agenda a strategic, department-wide effort to better align USDA’s resources, programs, and research to provide farmers with the tools they need to be successful. “We’re also continually mindful of the need for America’s agriculture industry to be environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable to maintain our position as a leader in the global effort to meet demand,” he adds. The first component of the Ag Innovation Agenda is to develop a U.S. ag innovation strategy that aligns and synchronizes public and private sector research.
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U.S. Pork Industry Wants Additional ASF Prevention Measures in Place
Continued vigilance by the USDA, Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. pork industry, means that the U.S. has so far prevented an outbreak of the African Swine Fever Virus. The disease affects pigs and poses no threat to human safety. The National Pork Producers Council and 30 state associations are asking Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue to take additional measures, including restricting imports of organic soy products for animal feed from all countries that have ASF outbreaks. The U.S. pork and feed industries have adopted holding times to allow for the natural degradation of any viruses, to ensure that most imported feed ingredients are safe to use. Research shows that organic soy products can maintain the virus for longer periods, making holding times impractical. Most soy imports into the U.S. are organic. NPPC says it’s confident in the safety of domestic soy products. NPPC and the associations are also asking USDA to further explore the merit of restricting all soy products from ASF-positive countries, to enhance its online system used to permit animal movements in the event of an outbreak, and to expand state animal health laboratory testing capacity.
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Groups to Study 100 Percent Biodiesel Engine Technology
A wide range of groups announced a partnership to conduct a year-long validation project of revolutionary biodiesel technology. Five trucks owned by ADM will be outfitted with Optimus Technologies Vector Fuel System, which enables diesel engines to run almost entirely on sustainable biodiesel. In a real-world environment, the trucks will be used in everyday fleet operations for a year, with each vehicle likely to travel between 160,000 and 180,000 miles, while reducing up to 500,000 pounds of carbon dioxide. Five other trucks in the ADM fleet will be a control group in the study and operate on conventional biodiesel. While nearly all diesel engine manufacturers support at least 20 percent biodiesel, the Optimus Vector System is designed to allow conventional diesel engines to run on 100 percent biodiesel in a wide range of climates. The system is already in use in short mileage, local fleet applications. The new project will test the viability for longer-haul, over-the-road fleets, which could potentially open a pathway to significantly higher volumes of biodiesel in the U.S. truck fleet. Other organizations involved in the project include the National Biodiesel Board, the Illinois Soybean Association, and the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council.
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Farmers Union Recommends Improvements to EQIP
The USDA continues to implement the 2018 Farm Bill and released the Environmental Quality Incentives Program Interim Rule. The National Farmers Union is urging the agency to strengthen the conservation program to better support farmers as they work to ensure the longevity of their land and natural resources. Farmers Union President Roger Johnson says his group values the program and wants to make improvements to ensure its efficiency. “We’d like to encourage the agency to include climate resilience and soil health in its list of EQIP priorities,” Johnson says. “These are two of the most critical issues facing agriculture today and farmers need all available tools and resources to address them.” They also recommend NRCS give each state the ability to set their high-priority practices for increased payment rates. Local and regional offices are the most knowledgeable about the resource concerns in their areas and should determine, when possible, how to address those concerns. “We also urge NRCS to prioritize farmers and ranchers when allocating EQIP funding,” Johnson adds. “We’d like funding to be available to water management entities that serve mostly farmers and ranchers.”
