ND Farmer: ‘Only Spanking Ourselves’ With Tariffs
Ag Week – 9/24/2018
Brian O’Toole ticks off the 10 Southeast Asian and Latin American countries he’s visited, some more than once, to promote U.S. wheat exports. O’Toole formerly served as chairman of U.S. Wheat Associates, which develops markets for U.S. wheat around the world, and farms in Crystal, N.D. The trips have given O’Toole personal, front-line experience with foreign customers. And in his judgment, the Trump administration’s current get-tough-on-trading-partners approach risks alienating foreign buyers with whom O’Toole and other agriculturalists have worked long and hard to win sales.
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Australia Signs One of The First New-Crop Wheat Export Deals
Successful Farming – 9/21/2018
Australian suppliers have signed one of the country’s first new-crop wheat export deals with a sale of 50,000 tonnes to Thailand, two trade sources said. Australian Premium White (APW) wheat was sold to flour millers in Thailand at around $280 a tonne, including cost and freight (C&F), for arrival in December-January, they said. “The deal was signed at the end of last week when prices dropped,” said one of the traders, who sells wheat to millers in Asia.
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Struggling U.S. Farmers Worry About a Resurgent Russia
Wall Street Journal – 9/23/2018
Vladimir Mishurov transformed the remnants of the “Lenin’s Path” collective farm in this village into a profitable business. He also helped make Russia the world’s largest wheat exporter for the first time since the last years of the czars. Over the past decade or so, Mr. Mishurove replaced his aging Russian equipment with a dozen high-tech machines from John Deere and other makers, and started using new fertilizers and seeds.
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WTO Members Clamour For More Clarity On U.S. Farm Spending
Reuters – 9/20/2018
Trading partners will demand more details from the United States at the World Trade Organization next week about its planned $12 billion aid package for U.S. farmers hurt by the Trump administration’s tariff wars. The U.S. aid package, announced in July, is intended to shield U.S. farmers from the repercussions of trade disputes between the United States and China, the European Union and others. But other WTO members want more clarity on how long it will last and whether it adheres to WTO rules as it could have an impact on their own agriculture sectors and competition.
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Some Farmers Worry Trump Bailout Checks Won’t Be Enough
AP – 9/24/2018
Farmers across the United States will soon begin receiving government checks as part of a billion-dollar bailout to buoy growers experiencing financial strain from President Donald Trump’s trade disputes with China. But even those poised for big payouts worry it won’t be enough. And while support for Trump is near unwavering in the heartland, some growers say that with the November election nearing, such disappointing aid outcomes could potentially affect their vote. “It’s pretty obvious that the rural agriculture communities helped elect this administration, but the way things are going I believe farmers are going to have to vote with their checkbook when it comes time,” said Kevin Skunes, a corn and soybean grower from Arthur, North Dakota and president of the National Corn Growers Association.
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University of Florida Working On Egyptian Wheat Production
Southeast Ag Net – 9/21/2018
The University of Florida is developing simulation software that calculates crop growth to estimate yields for different crops in varying environments. These modeling tools can be run on computers quickly and can calculate how a yield might change in future climates. Senthold Asseng is a professor at the University of Florida who develops mathematical modeling and computer simulation tools for agricultural and biological systems related to climate variability, climate change and sustainability.
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Source: U.S. Wheat Associates