By Sarah Fielder
Climate Corp Deal With Deere Off This week, Climate Corp. announced that it was terminating a deal to sell Precision Planting, LLC to John Deere. The deal first announced in Nov. of 2015 but had been delayed by the Justice Department. Climate Corp. still plans to sell Precision Planting. To read Deere’s statement about the termination of the sale, click here http://bit.ly/2oThnaU.
Profile of Duarte Nursery Litigation For those that have followed the Duarte Nursery litigation involving a nursery grower in California farming a wetland in violation of the Clean Water Act. At the district court level, the federal court agreed with the Army Corps of Engineers and penalty phase will start later this year. To learn more about the litigation, see http://bit.ly/2pwjikH.
Perdue Hints Trump May Overlook Ag Immigrant Workers Late last week, Secretary Perdue answered questions on the current administration’s views on illegal immigration. The Secretary assured producers that the Trump administration would not be cracking down on farm workers. To read more about what the Secretary said during the town hall, see http://bit.ly/2pEW9uB.
Ag Bankers Expect 54% of Clients to Remain Profitable in 2017 A recent survey by the American Bankers Association and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp of ag lenders highlights the struggles the ag economy is facing. Of the lenders responding, ag lenders believe that 60 percent of their ag clients are currently profitable but believe only 54 percent will be profitable in 2017. To see more from the recent survey, see http://bit.ly/2qEBXsh.
The demand for ‘local’ food is growing — here’s why investors should pay attention Everyone needs food—and we can tell you something that American consumers want with increasing fervency: local food. They want to know where their food comes from, how it was made and by whom. They want the transparency that is required to know its source. To read the full story click here: https://go.umd.edu/cwq.
Agriculture wins big in Annapolis. Some of the bills that passed were: The creation of a six-month 88,000-pound live poultry hauling permit to help chicken growers on the Eastern Shore move poultry more efficiently and less costly during the winter months throughout Delmarva. The reauthorization of the 88,000-pound milk hauling permit during the spring flush. A Deer Crop Damage Permit corrective bill to insure Maryland farmers can continue to address problem deer year-round, including Sundays. To read the full opinion piece go here: https://go.umd.edu/cwc.
Why your organic milk might not be organic. With milk, the critical issue is grazing. Organic dairies are required to allow the cows to graze daily throughout the growing season — that is, the cows are supposed to be grass-fed, not confined to barns and feedlots. This method is considered more natural and alters the constituents of the cows’ milk in ways consumers deem beneficial. But during visits by The Washington Post to Aurora’s High Plains complex across eight days last year, signs of grazing were sparse, at best. To read the full story click here: https://go.umd.edu/cwp.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Delays Food Calorie Labeling Implementation A federal mandate requiring calories be posted on menus was to take effect May 5. The Trump administration has postponed its implementation to allow for public comment on the rule. It was fought by trade groups representing pizza restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores and bakeries, which argued that the regulations needed to be adjusted to accommodate the many different ways in which Americans buy their food. The labeling requirement has been heralded by public health advocates who say consumers who see calorie counts before buying food tend to order less calorie-laden options. http://trib.in/2pQNR5P.
Worcester County Commission Approves New Poultry Regulations. Worcester County’s commissioners unanimously approved new regulations on poultry farming last week, joining several other local governments responding to the industry’s recent expansion across the Eastern Shore with new rules. The bill, which passed April 25 with little comment from commissioners, limits the number of poultry houses permitted on a single parcel to eight and requires 200-foot setbacks from property boundaries. Vegetative buffers are also required. To read the full story click here: https://go.umd.edu/cwx.
The Trouble With Cottonseed Since late 2015, the cotton industry has been lobbying USDA to designate cottonseed as an “other oilseed.” The industry has lobbied for this designation to allow cotton producers to be eligible for ARC and PLC programs under the 2014 Farm Bill, for those that forget cotton was not considered a covered commodity eligible for those programs in the new Farm Bill. FarmDoc Daily recently posted an article highlighting the issues with designating cottonseed as an oilseed. To see that article, http://bit.ly/2p9abmz.
Get to Know the Young Banker An earlier blurb highlighted the recent survey by the ABA and Farmer Mac, one interesting piece of that survey is that bankers in the ag industry are on average the same age as their clients. The survey highlights that it is expected that one-third of all ag lenders will retire in the next five years. In a recent interview, Jackson Takash of Farmer Mac highlights tips producers should consider if their current banker could be retiring in the next five years. To listen to the interview, click here http://bit.ly/2qvCLTF.