U.S. Farm Leaders Give Perspectives On New Trade Deal
Southeast Farm Press – 10/3/2018
As harvesters rolled over U.S. fields, the Trump Administration announced Oct. 1 the birth of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the results of the renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement. The week prior, the administration championed a new agreement with Korea and negotiations for one with Japan progressed. A China trade deal remained locked in a tit-for-tat tariff battle with the U.S. The details of the agreement were being vetted by U.S. agricultural interest groups and USMCA awaited Congressional approval. The initial general attitude among U.S. ag leaders, however, was one of optimistic relief as the uncertainty of what would become of NAFTA was alleviated.
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Ag News: No Farm Bill Before November
All Ag News – 10/1/2018
Despite working into the weekend, leaders from the House and Senate Agriculture Committees were unable to reach a final agreement on the 2018 Farm Bill. As the 2014 Farm Bill expired Sunday at midnight, farmers and ranchers will have to wait to find out what their contract with the U.S. government will be for the next five years. Rep. Mike Conaway (TX-R) expressed deep frustration over the lack of urgency from the group. Sen. Pat Roberts (KS-R) is the Chairman of the Conference Committee and though disappointed by the lack of a final bill, did say that he believes the group can finalize the legislation just after the November elections.
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Wheat ‘Fix’ Will Hurt, Canadian Farmer Says
AgWeek – 10/3/2018
Terry Boehm raises spring wheat and other crops near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from the nearest port. He says that complicates selling his high-quality wheat to foreign customers and increases the need for Canada’s grain-grading system. The system is “the key to our international competitiveness,” particularly for wheat, says Boehm, chairman of his country’s National Farmers Union’s Trade Committee. “What we have now works for Canadian farmers.”
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NAFTA Deal Emboldens White House in China Talks
Politico – 10/3/2018
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow is using the new North American trade deal to try to lure China back to the bargaining table — and to flex the Trump administration’s bolstered negotiating strength. The National Economic Council director said Tuesday that the Trump administration is still open to “serious” discussions with the Chinese government aimed at easing trade tensions, potentially on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting starting Nov. 30 in Buenos Aires, Pro Trade’s Megan Casella reports.
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Wheat That Pumps Iron, Naturally
Science Daily – 10/3/2018
Is biofortification the best thing since sliced bread? Well, biofortified wheat could certainly make it easier to help some humans get proper nutrition. Biofortification is the process of naturally increasing the nutritional value of a crop. Unlike fortification, which might add a mineral like iron directly to something like bread dough, the goal of biofortification is to have the wheat in the dough naturally contain more iron in the first place.
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Soft Durum Wheat: ‘Magic Flour’ of the Future?
Capital Press – 10/3/2018
Soft durum wheat, a versatile new version of the workhorse variety most often used to make pasta, is featured in a Washington State University fine dining program, but researchers say its future may stretch beyond the university’s buffet table. The Carson College of Business offers the Feast of the Arts on Friday nights before home football games. The program is a collaboration between the WSU Alumni Center; Jamie Callison, executive chef of the School of Hospitality Business Management Catering Services; and WSU-affiliated wineries. The food is prepared by students who work and volunteer at the catering service. Soft durum wheat is used in all the bread, desserts, pasta, ravioli and other dishes, said Jessica Murray, Ph.D. student in the school of hospitality and business management.
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Source: U.S. Wheat Associates