National Pork Producers Council President-elect John Weber referred to the Trans-Pacific Partnership(TPP) as “the biggest commercial opportunity ever for U.S. pork producers,” during a press conference this week on the recently concluded free trade deal. “America’s pork producers strongly and unequivocally support the TPP, and we urge Congress to quickly pass it,” said Weber, a pork producer from Dysart, Iowa. … Read More
John Block Reports on TTIP
This week in Washington, John Block is reporting on the European Trade Agreement with the United States (TTIP) that is still in the process of negotiation. Should the agreement succeed in passing through both ends of the government, it will be considered an incredible win for agriculture. Recent changes in European legislation, however, are making the success of the agreement … Read More
VT Chickens Help Hatch Evolutionary Discovery
The genetic lines of chickens raised at Virginia Tech University were a critical component in a remarkable research study which has proven that evolution happens 15 times faster than has been previously believed. The study was published recently in Biology Letters, a journal of Royal Society Publishing, and involved Virginia Tech researchers, as well as researchers from the University of … Read More
What Trade Deal Means to New Zealand Dairy
The Honorable Nathan Guy, Minister of Primary Industries for New Zealand, is basically the counterpart of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in this country and he was delighted to welcome the 2015 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Congress to “little old New Zealand.” “This is a significant event for New Zealand,” said Guy of the 33 countries represented at the … Read More
2016 Olympic Equestrian Venue May Not Be In Brazil
The 2016 Summer Olympic Games are coming to Rio De Janeiro, but the equestrian events of next year’s games might have to take place outside of Brazil, according to the Brazilian Equestrian Federation. Federation President Luiz Roberto Giugni issued the warning last Wednesday at a news conference in Sao Paulo, following delays by The Brazilian Agriculture Ministry in issuing the … 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
South African Farmer Recognized at WDE
Kevin Lang of Howick, South Africa was one of several dairy industry professionals honored for their outstanding contributions to the dairy industry through the 2015 World Dairy Expo Recognition Awards, specifically the 2015 World Dairy Expo International Person of the Year. Lang is the owner of Fairfield Dairy, a private label milk processing business that processes 310,600 pounds of milk … Read More
The CL Ranch in Alberta, CA
I went North young man. As in on the North Tour during the Canadian Farm Writers Federation Annual Meeting. Our fist stop was CL Ranch where we met Cheri Copithorne-Barnes. This ranch has a fascinating story. It was established in 1887 and they raise 2,000 cows at the main ranch on the edge of Calgary, Alberta. Besides raising cattle the … Read More
Focused on Genomics Not Milk
When you think of a dairy farm you think milk. Or, as in the case of Rocky Mountain Holsteins, you think genomics. Rod Churchill is the manager for the business, pictured with his wife during a Canadian Farm Writers Federation tour stop near Calgary, Alberta. Ron describes the business as an “elite breeding genetics farm.” They raise very expensive breeding … Read More
Alberta Youth Wins #WDE15 Fitting Contest
Lee Morey, 19 year old college student from Rochester, Alberta, claimed top honors out of a field of thirteen talented dairy youth in this year’s World Dairy Expo Youth Fitting Contest. It is his second time winning the top honor, and his 5th consecutive year placing in the top five of the competition. Contestants had 60 minutes to fit their … Read More