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11Jun

Senate Draft of the Farm Bill Includes FMD Bank, But Lacks Funding

As expected, the leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee relapsed their draft 2018 Farm Bill on Friday afternoon. According to Committee Chair Sen. Pat Roberts and Ranking member Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the bipartisan draft will provide a new level of certainty and predictably to support farmers and ranchers across the country. The Livestock Subtitle of the bill creates a National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures bank. The draft directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make the maintenance Foot and Mouth...

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07Jun

Cotton Making Strong Strides

Contrasted alongside anemic crop commodity prices, cotton was once viewed as merely the best pig in the pen. No more. Significant profitability and growing demand are pushing white fiber across increasing acres. Since cotton acres scraped low in 2015, the Cotton Belt's white blanket has expanded by 4 million acres, and 2018 appears to continue the march. Growers are expected to increase cotton ground by 7% in 2018 to approximately 13.5 million acres the highest total since 2011. USDA's final 2017 estimate...

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22May

New Demands on Farm Shops

Taller equipment and emerging technology requires flexibility With every part of an operation set on go, the farm shop is a critical switchboard of activity. To make everything work in lockstep, you need a central command center that has the flexibility to work around you as opposed to the other way around. This is becoming more important since farm machinery has gotten taller, wider and more computer savvy. “One of the shop trends I see is to make everything more mobile,” says...

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21May

USDA Sets Realistic Expectations About Future Trade with China

Potential progress on a U.S. and China trade deal rippled through the market Monday morning, with soybeans shooting 18 cents higher on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. President Donald Trump tweeted "China has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products- would be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!" The president followed up with another tweet less than two hours later, saying "Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American...

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26Apr

France Bans Vegan and Vegetarian Food Labels Using Meat or Dairy Terms

No longer can vegan and vegetarian food be labeled with meat or dairy specific terms like "burger" or "milk" in France. An amendment passed by the French Parliament now makes it illegal for food processors to label vegan and vegetarian food with terminology commonly used for meat and dairy products. This includes products originating from animals such as steak, cheese, sausage or any other terms used for traditional meat and dairy foods. According to the British Broadcasting Company, a violation of the...

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