Mark Stephenson, Director of Dairy Policy Analysis for the University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, was one of many exceptional dairy professionals who spoke in front of international audiences during the 2015 World Dairy Expo. “Policy has been pretty important for us in the last couple of years as we had a Farm Bill approaching,” he said … Read More
Professor Says U.S. Dairy Could Flood Canada in TPP
Professor in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, Andrew Novakovic, said Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could represent a new opportunity for the U.S. dairy to develop marketing relationships with Canadian processing and marketing companies, but at a high cost for Canadian farmers. “The outlines of the dairy agreement contained in Trans-Pacific Partnership is distinguished not so … Read More
Dairy Last Deal Made in TPP
The last piece of the Trans Pacific Partnership puzzle to fall into place early Monday morning was dairy, with the holdout coming from demands for increased market access by Australia and New Zealand. “The extraordinary thing about dairy products…is that New Zealand has only two and a half percent of world dairy production and roughly one third of world trade,” … Read More
Ag Industy Comments on TPP Negotiations
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations have successfully concluded in Atlanta and many believe it will benefit all sectors of the U.S. economy by boosting U.S. exports and eliminating trade barriers. “While the full details of the partnership will not be released until the President presents it to Congress, cattle producers are assured this is a true 21st century agreement,” said … Read More
NASDA's Mission to Grow & Enhance Agriculture
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) represents the 50 state commissioners, secretaries and directors of agriculture. Dr. Barb Glen, CEO of NASDA, took in this year’s World Dairy Expo and said don’t forget that there is one near you and you should get to know them. “We represent agriculture. Our mission is to grow and enhance agriculture … Read More
Wisconsin Sec. of Ag Talks Policy at World Dairy Expo
Policies concerning our nation’s dairy industry were just a few of the topics Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection, Ben Brancel, discussed while attending the 2015 World Dairy Expo. “Today I think price in most all commodities are issues whether you are talking milk or grain prices. Of course low grain prices help that dairy farmer out when … Read More
NPPC Urges South Africa to Lift Restriction on US Pork
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is continuing to urge South Africa to lift their restrictions on U.S. pork. The United States and South Africa are continuing to discuss market access for U.S. meat and poultry; the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is continuing a review of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which benefits South Africa; … Read More
NFU DC Fly-In Focus on COOL
Members of the National Farmers Union (NFU) met with administration officials and Congressional representatives in Washington DC last week for the organization’s 2015 Fall Legislative Fly-In. “This fall has proven to be a very important time for several Farmers Union issues, including the path forward for voluntary Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL), the full implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as … Read More
Missouri Legislators Talk COOL
While policy makers attended the Missouri State Fair’s legislator day I spoke with a few of them about issues that have a huge impact on agriculture across the country like Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), which has yet to be addressed by Senate. Missouri Senator Roy Blunt believes we must avoid retaliation from Mexico and Canada. “The likely result of … Read More
NPPC Says Withdraw Trade Benefits for South Africa
The National Pork Producers Council submitted comments asking the Obama administration to withdraw or limit preferential trade benefits for South Africa because of that country’s reluctance to provide market access to U.S. pork. “South Africa has shown that it is pleased to take advantage of U.S. preferential trade programs but is unwilling to extend even customary equitable treatment to imports … Read More