Jay Leno’s Lil Tug going to auction with President George W. Bush’s signature on it! Here’s a photo of the sighing on his ranch from his Facebook page.
Talk show host Jay Leno used it in his famous Garage. Former President George W. Bush put his signature on it. And this Saturday, January 21, it will go on the auction block as part of New Holland Agriculture’s “True Blue Salute” program in support of veterans.
‘Lil Tug, the New Holland Boomer™ tractor that’s been working hard in Jay Leno’s Garage the past five years, will be auctioned off at the famed Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, AZ, on Saturday evening – with all proceeds going to the Fisher House Foundation, best known for its network of homes built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers where families can stay while their loved ones are receiving treatment.
The auction will be broadcast live on SPEED TV, with the ‘Lil Tug scheduled to go on the block Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Mountain Time (8:30 p.m. CT/9:30 p.m. EST).
The tractor auction marks the culmination of New Holland’s “True Blue Salute” program, which launched on Veterans Day in November and continues through Saturday – offering U.S. veterans and military personnel a $300 discount on the purchase of New Holland Boomer™ compact tractor models 30, 35, 40 or 50 purchased in North America. New Holland is also donating $100 to the Fisher House Foundation for every Boomer compact tractor sold in North America during the discount period.
In the days leading up to the auction, ‘Lil Tug (as Leno’s crew nicknamed the tractor) has been getting publicity in a variety of places, including:
On the Fox News O’Reilly Factor, where host Bill O’Reilly, a Fisher House supporter, promoted the auction and showed a video clip of the tractor at work in the Jay Leno Garage.
At the recent NAMA Trends in Agriculture conference one of our panel discussions featured Tom Dorr, U.S. Grains Council. The panel topic was “Meeting the Growing Demand for Exports for Trade.” Thanks to Paulsen Marketing for supplying this video clip with Tom.
Much of American agriculture is dependent on international trade. What does this mean for the future if the ag industry in our country? NAMA Trends in Agriculture explored that issue with a panel that included Tom Dorr, the President and CEO of the U.S. Grains Council. Dorr shared his thoughts on what solid export policy for the U.S. should look like.
Agricultural interests have been trying for nearly five years to get Washington to act on three free trade agreements and finally in just over a week they have been sent to Congress and passed by significant majorities.
The trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Columbia were each voted on separately and passed in rapid succession Wednesday, first by the House and then by the Senate. The votes in the House were 278-151 for South Korea, 300-129 for Panama and 262-167 for Colombia. In the Senate, it was 83-15 for South Korea, 77-22 for Panama and 66-33 for Colombia. The president is expected to sign them.
Farm groups were quick to praise the long-awaited action that is expected to mean increased exports for a variety of agricultural commodities.
“The three free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama provide great opportunities for America’s farmers,” said National Corn Growers Association President Garry Niemeyer of Illinois, adding that U.S. farmers have been standing by watching other nations receive increased access to these markets as the FTAs waited in limbo.
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Bill Donald of Montana was pleased to see Congress put differences aside to pass the trade deals. “For too long, the trade agreements have been collecting dust,” he said, noting that cattlemen have a lot to gain when the agreements are fully implemented by reducing and eliminating import tariffs on U.S. beef imposed by Colombia (80 percent), Panama (30 percent) and South Korea (40 percent).
Pork producers also have much to gain under the agreements, according to National Pork Producers Council president Doug Wolf of Wisconsin who called passage of the FTAs “one of the greatest victories ever for the U.S. pork industry” since it is expected to add more than $11 to the price producers receive for each hog marketed.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says passage of the agreements means over $2.3 billion in additional exports for American agriculture as a whole. “Immediately upon implementation of these agreements, the majority of American products exported to Korea, Colombia and Panama will become duty-free,” said Vilsack. “With record agricultural exports supporting more than a million jobs here at home, passage of these deals will contribute to a positive U.S. trade balance, create jobs, and provide new income opportunities for our nation’s agricultural producers, small businesses, and rural communities.”
After more than four years in limbo, trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama have finally been sent to Congress by the White House and could be voted on by next week.
“The series of trade agreements I am submitting to Congress today will make it easier for American companies to sell their products in South Korea, Colombia, and Panama and provide a major boost to our exports,” President Obama said in a statement.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said completing the agreements “will level the playing field and secure markets for America’s farmers, ranchers, growers and producers ahead of competitors in the global marketplace.”
Once the agreements were turned loose by the president, agricultural organizations immediately began calling on Congress to end the wait and pass them. “America’s farmers and ranchers have much at stake and the fact these three agreements are moving forward is very good news for our economy,” said American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman. “Combined, the three FTAs represent nearly $2.5 billion in new agriculture exports and would create the economic growth that could generate support for up to 22,500 U.S. jobs. These gains will only be realized if the three agreements are passed by Congress and implemented.”
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Bill Donald welcomed the news but cautioned that the agreements are far from implemented.
“Today marks the biggest leap forward we have seen in nearly five years when the trade pact with Colombia was signed,” said Donald. “Our entire country, especially rural America, is nearing a historic moment.”
Donald said cattlemen “will not rest easy until the agreements are fully implemented.”
The coalition is sending out messages on Twitter this week during the “White House Office Hours on the American Jobs Act” to address the importance of the US-Korea FTA and other pending trade agreements in creating American jobs and they are urging other supporters to do the same. You can use the hashtag #WHChat to ask your questions on President Obama’s speech and the American Jobs Act, and senior staff will respond to your questions in real-time via Twitter from the @WHLive account.
The Coalition itself is tweeting one specific message – “Pres. Obama, will you pass pending #FTAs to create US #jobs before US companies get shut of foreign markets? #WHChat @whitehouse” – and encouraging others to retweet it, but you could certainly come up with your own questions. The president did mention free trade in his address to Congress last week on jobs even though he has not yet formally submitting the pending FTAs to them for consideration.
“Now it’s time to clear the way for a series of trade agreements that would make it easier for American companies to sell their products in Panama and Colombia and South Korea -– while also helping the workers whose jobs have been affected by global competition,” the president said. The White House is reportedly waiting on an extension of an expired program that provides aid to workers displaced by foreign competition.
U.S. farmers and ranchers are highly supportive of moving forward with all the trade agreements, which have been languishing for years now. USDA estimates that the agricultural exports results from the FTAs will yield over $2.3 billion in sales and help support more than 19,000 American jobs in agriculture and related industries. According to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says, just the agreement with South Korea alone could result in a more than $1 billion market for U.S. beef once fully implemented.
So, tweet the White House this week during one of the times listed below and ask these guys why the president is holding up the agreements. The upcoming Office Hours scheduled for this week are: Tuesday, September 13th:
5:30 p.m. EDT: Office Hours with David Plouffe, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor Wednesday, September 14th:
4:00 p.m. EDT: Office Hours with Brian Deese, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Thursday, September 15th:
4:00 p.m. EDT: Office Hours with Jason Furman, Principal Deputy Director of the National Economic Council
National Pork Producers Council leaders conducted the traditional first day World Pork Expo press conference this morning to discuss issues of importance to the industry.
Among the bigger issues is expanding international markets for U.S. pork by getting Congress to pass the three pending free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama. “We need new and expanded markets,” said NPPC immediate past president Sam Carney of Iowa. “These FTAs combined would add more than $11 to the price producers receive for their pigs and would generate about 10,000 U.S. jobs.”
Carney says they hope to get the FTAs passed before summer recess or right after. “We’re frustrated but yet we’re hopeful we’re gonna get it done,” he said.
Since May is both World Trade Month and National Beef Month, it was appropriate for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) to host a news conference on Capitol Hill today urging the Obama administration to send pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to Congress immediately.
NCBA was joined by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), American Soybean Association (ASA), National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), and National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). NCBA President Bill Donald started it all off by saying that the pending trade agreements are long overdue and the unprecedented delay is putting U.S. agriculture at a competitive disadvantage.
“Members of Congress, prepare your yes votes and push all three of these agreements across the finish line,” Donald said. “This is a powerful stimulus package for the American people, a stimulus package that will not cost the American taxpayers one damn dime.”
To put in perspective how long the trade agreements have been sitting on the shelf, NAWG CEO Dana Peterson noted that Twitter was just a baby, and that babies born when they were signed are entering kindergarten.
Since May is World Trade Month, you would think it would be a great time for Congress to pass those pesky pending Free Trade Agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama that have been awaiting approval for years. Several of the nation’s largest agricultural organizations who testified before the House Agriculture Committee this week on why it is so important to get those agreements operating think so. Actually, most would say that last May World Trade Month would have been better!
Among those testifying was National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president Bill Donald of Montana. “Each day that goes by without implementing these agreements is another day we risk losing American jobs by losing market share to other countries. With 96 percent of the world’s consumers living outside of the United States, future growth of the U.S. economy depends upon our ability to produce and sell products competitively in the global marketplace,” said Donald. May is also National Beef Month, coincidentally.
National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman told the committee that passing the FTAs and developing new markets for our country’s agricultural products will help our sector lead the nation in economic growth and international competitiveness. “The United States is the largest corn producer and exporter in the world, and exports of corn and corn co-products are essential to producer income,” Tolman said. “Our members want to maintain current export markets and significantly increase demand for corn through opportunities in value-added corn products.”
The committee also heard from American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman, which you can see on the AFBF website. “These trade agreements are not only important to the bottom line of America’s farmers and ranchers but the economic health of our rural communities and the overall U.S. economy,” said Stallman. “There is a long supply chain made up of American workers who get products from the farm gate to foreign consumers.”
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also noted the importance of the FTAs for jobs in this country. “”These three trade agreements will create jobs. Through agricultural exports alone, they will yield over $2.3 billion in sales and help support more than 19,000 American jobs in agriculture and related industries,” said Vilsack.
Some progress has been seen recently on moving the FTAs forward and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk indicated to the committee that all three agreements will be submitted to Congress with a view to having them considered this year.
This week was the National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Washington Watch meeting in our beautiful Nation’s Capitol. It definitely was an interesting time to be in DC after the events of last weekend.
Washington Watch gives NAFB members an opportunity to sit down with folks inside the Beltway and get an update on some of the major issues of concern to agriculture. After Monday’s meetings broadcaster’s had a chance to delve deeper into the hot topics during Issues Forum.
Tuesday we visited USDA where we heard from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. He touched on topics from the lack of planting progress this spring to the heartbreaking Birds Point New Madrid levee. I think one of the most important items addressed was the decision to allow crop insurance protections for those affected by the Birds Point New Madrid levee situation (see Cindy’s post earlier this week). We wrapped up Tuesday with a luncheon at the National Press Club with Former Secretary of Agriculture and Former Representative Larry Combest. Tuesday afternoon left time for some Hill visits. I had the opportunity to chat with my Representative, Aaron Schock, and his staff. It’s always a good feeling to leave discussions with the confidence that the agriculture industry is in good hands. Wednesday morning concluded with visits from several of ag’s biggest supporters in the Longworth Building.
One of the most touched on topics in DC this past week was the issue of trade. I had the chance to speak with American Farm Bureau Federation’s Trade Specialist Chris Garza about the current pending free trade agreements.
Garza thinks there is light at the end of the tunnel…
It’s taken over four years to get to this point, but some action is finally happening on the Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) and U.S. agriculture interests are thrilled.
President Obama announced today that an agreement has been reached on the deal that was signed by the U.S. Trade Representative and the Colombian trade minister on Nov. 22, 2006. The agreement will now be sent to Congress to ratify. It is estimated that the Colombia agreement could mean U.S. agricultural export gains of more than $815 million per year at full implementation.
According to a USDA Fact Sheet, a variety of agricultural commodities would benefit from the Agreement, as more than half of current U.S. farm exports to Colombia will become duty-free immediately, and virtually all remaining tariffs will be eliminated within 15 years. “Colombia will immediately eliminate duties on wheat, barley, soybeans, soybean meal and flour, high-quality beef, bacon, almost all fruit and vegetable products, wheat, peanuts, whey, cotton, and the vast majority of processed products. The Agreement also provides duty free tariff rate quotas (TRQ) on standard beef, chicken leg quarters, dairy products, corn, sorghum, animal feeds, rice, and soybean oil.”
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Bill Donald said it’s essential for the U.S. to take aggressive measures to expand market access for agriculture to stimulate the economy and feed a growing global population. “The cattle industry can breathe a sigh of relief today as the Colombia agreement finally gets the long overdue attention it deserves,” said Donald. “This agreement has collected dust for well over four years while our trade competitors proactively sign, seal and deliver trade pacts.”
American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman says the development is just what a group of Farm Bureau leaders has been pushing for the last two weeks during a visit to Colombia and Panama. “After meetings this week and last with farmers, ranchers and agricultural leaders from Colombia, we know this is a development welcomed by all sides. Trade will help the United States build stronger bonds with our Latin American neighbors, and it makes sense given our advantage of proximity and history of cooperation.”
The National Corn Growers Association says the Colombia FTA would provide immediate access for U.S. corn growers to Colombia’s roughly 2.1 million metric ton market for corn at zero percent duty. “Colombia has traditionally been one of the Top 10 export markets for U.S. corn,” NCGA President Bart Schott said. “This is an important market for U.S. farmers and we do not want to watch this market slip away to our largest competitors.”
National Pork Producers Council President Doug Wolf says the agreement will increase U.S. pork exports to the South American country by $68.9 million and help create 919 U.S. pork industry jobs. “We must implement our pending FTAs to remain competitive,” Wolf said. “Pork producers also support the Korea and Panama FTAs and urge the administration to send them to Congress to be approved by this summer.”
Prior to the start of the 2011 Commodity Classic in Tampa, Bayer CropScience held its annual Ag Issues Forum featuring a number of prominent experts in the areas of trade, policy, finance and environmental issues.
One of those experts was an old friend, former Secretary of Agriculture and U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter, who is pictured here with Bayer CropScience executives Mike Deall and Alan Ayers. It’s been a couple of decades since I had the opportunity to interview Clayton, so it was a real treat to spend a few minutes with him to get his thoughts on agriculture and trade policy, 2011 and beyond.
His remarks to the agricultural journalists centered on how we keep American agriculture profitable in the future. “The key to that really is the international side,” he said. “Basically, what’s happening in Asia today is an absolute explosion in demand for food, for example.”
The former USTR, who is still very much involved in global trade issues as the Senior Advisor for International Trade with the law firm Hogan Lovells, said it is important for the U.S. to approve the pending trade agreements with Columbia and Korea. “The present administration has been sitting on these agreements for two solid years now because they haven’t wanted to challenge the labor unions who don’t like them,” he said. “At some point, the president has to exercise some leadership and say ‘enough is enough – I want to get these agreements approved and I’m going to send them to Congress. Vote for them!’”
Yeutter also talked about how agriculture might fare in the upcoming Farm Bill debate, gave some thoughts on the ethanol issue, and said he is excited about the future for U.S. agriculture. “From the demand perspective, we’ve never seen it this good, globally,” he said. “Only five percent of the people in the world are in the U.S., the other 95 are outside. And fortunately for U.S. agriculture, a lot of those folks are in a position to buy food – way more today than when I was secretary of agriculture 20 years ago!”
As the president of China was flying in for a quick visit to the Windy City on Thursday, representatives from China’s 10 largest soybean crushers were signing agreements to purchase 110 million bushels of U.S. soybeans during a ceremony held in Chicago. The purchase is worth $1.8 billion and more bushels are expected to be committed tomorrow. A similar purchase agreement ceremony in 2008 was largest reported single-day export sale of U.S. soybeans in history, but this buying event – which may be larger – was split into two days.
“This is a huge event for soybean farmers, this isn’t something that happens everyday,” said Jim Call, United Soybean Board International Marketing chair and a soybean farmer from Minnesota. “We’ve had an office in China for over 25 years now. It just goes to show that our checkoff commitment for that long a period of time has really paid off.”
Soybean users in China, which purchased 825 million bushels of U.S. soybeans during the most recent marketing year, are the largest international customers of U.S. soy. The country currently imports one out of every four rows of soybeans grown by U.S. soybean farmers. “Every other row of soybeans we raise in the United States is exported and as we increase yields, any additional bushels will have to be exported, too,” Jim said.
Representatives from the Chinese companies said that they are pleased with the quality of U.S. soybeans, which they are purchasing in the form of both whole beans and soybean oil.
USB held a teleconference following the signing, which was in a room with a lot of background noise but there are some usable sound bites in here from Jim Call and the interpreter for Deng Haotian, representative from Sinograin. Here is the edited version for your listening or downloading pleasure: USB China Teleconference
Korea’s ambassador to the United States is optimistic that Congress will pass the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement when it is submitted by the president.
Han Duk-soo spoke at a town hall forum sponsored by American Farm Bureau during the Ag Connect Expo on Saturday and then held a press conference, accompanied by AFBF’s Congressional Relations Director Chris Garza. “The momentum is very high now, I would say there’s no objections from US industry,” Han said during the press conference. “President Obama is very strong on passing this agreement, so I think it will be submitted to congress by the administration soon and if it is submitted, I think Congress should act within 60 days.” His hope is that it will be finished by the end of June.
Han sees no downside to the agreement for U.S. agriculture. “The beneficial impacts on the part of US exporters of agricultural products into Korea is huge,” he said. “It’s 100 percent beneficial to the US agricultural sector.”
Listen to or download Han’s press conference comments here (questions are not all audible): Han Duk-soo
The TATT Global Farmer to Farmer Roundtable is now in session. This is a discussion which will take place this evening and continue tomorrow morning with a concluding lunch.
After introductions we’re now involved in a discussion about issues like the growing world population and challenges faces farmers who are trying to produce food to feed them all. I’m listening in and will be conducting some interviews with various participants to post in coming days. There are some very interesting farmers here from a variety of types of farms.
Here at the U.S. Grains Council International Marketing Conference n this morning’s general session we had a panel discussion on trade with Mexico. In the discussion attendees were able to ask questions and answers. In fact, it was mostly a Q&A session. Allan Mustard, Minister Counselor, Office of Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy, Mexico City, introduced our panel.
Our panelists and their specialties included:
Enrique Dominguez (Director – pork producers confederation)
Discussion topic
-Excessive exports of pork into Mexico (why and what is causing in terms of jobs and capital loss)
-How long will that tendency last and what effects will result (everybody is asking this question)
-What can be done from a regional point of view (north America, NAFTA to correct this issue)
Ricardo Calderon (Executive Director APPAMEX – grain traders association)
Discussion topic
-Integration of the market MEX-USA, trends and role of different actors.
-Obstacles that can disrupt trade (which ones can be prevented)
-Future of grain trade MEX-USA
-How to keep free flow of feed grains
Carlos Lopez Coello (Scientist UNAM – National University of Mexico poultry specialist)
Discussion topic
There are 5 areas in developed countries where commercial poultry has received special attention, attributed in large part by consumer demand
1. Animal Welfare.
2. Environment Conservation.
3. Food Safety.
4. Traceability.
5. Animal and Human Health.
You can watch or listen to the Mexican trade panel. I recorded our live feed.
The U.S. Grains Council’s 49th Annual Board of Delegates Meeting luncheon on Monday featured two college seniors who shared their experiences as participants of the recent International Collegiate Agricultural Leadership (I-CAL) annual mission to Vietnam and China.
Amy Berry, senior at the University of Wyoming, and Michelle Euken, senior at Iowa State University, told more than 300 attendees of their “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity as two of twelve top U.S. agricultural students from eight different states who were selected for this year’s I-CAL program, a cooperative effort of The Grains Foundation and the National FFA Organization intended to help educate future agricultural leaders about export market development.
“The I-CAL program is an awesome opportunity for students to get involved overseas and really learn international markets and opportunities abroad,” Michelle told me after their presentation.
“The work that the Grains Council does is real and it helps producers here by thinking globally and solving problems that producers couldn’t do alone,” Amy says. “It definitely changed my perspective.”
The administrator of USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service Michael Michener spoke to the US Grains Council delegates meeting this morning in San Diego about how the partnership between FAS and USGC helps to open markets for US agricultural products.
“Over the years, FAS and the U.S Grains Council have formed a vital link between government and U.S. agriculture to maintain and expand exports of corn, barley and sorghum,” said Michener. “According to an independent study conducted by Informa Economics last year, the Council created $659 million for U.S. agriculture or $37 for every dollar invested. This is a remarkable return on investment for any government program.”
Michener also reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to address pending free trade agreements and revitalize the Doha Round. Read more from the US Grains Council here.
In this week's program Chuck talks with Mike Adams, AgriTalk.
Chuck and Mike often wind up at the same events all over the country so it seemed like a good idea to do a little AgriTalking about the changes they've seen in the ag media landscape.
Jay Leno’s Lil Tug going to auction with President George W. Bush’s signature on it! Here’s a photo of the sighing on his ranch from his Facebook page.
The trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Columbia were each voted on separately and passed in rapid succession Wednesday, first by the House and then by the Senate. The votes in the House were 278-151 for South Korea, 300-129 for Panama and 262-167 for Colombia. In the Senate, it was 83-15 for South Korea, 77-22 for Panama and 66-33 for Colombia. The president is expected to sign them.
The coalition is sending out messages on Twitter this week during the 
Among the bigger issues is expanding international markets for U.S. pork by getting Congress to pass the three pending free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama. “We need new and expanded markets,” said NPPC immediate past president Sam Carney of Iowa. “These FTAs combined would add more than $11 to the price producers receive for their pigs and would generate about 10,000 U.S. jobs.”
NCBA was joined by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), American Soybean Association (ASA), National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), and National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). NCBA President Bill Donald started it all off by saying that the pending trade agreements are long overdue and the unprecedented delay is putting U.S. agriculture at a competitive disadvantage.
President Obama announced today that an agreement has been reached on the deal that was signed by the U.S. Trade Representative and the Colombian trade minister on Nov. 22, 2006. The agreement will now be sent to Congress to ratify. It is estimated that the Colombia agreement could mean U.S. agricultural export gains of more than $815 million per year at full implementation. 
One of those experts was an old friend, former Secretary of Agriculture and U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter, who is pictured here with Bayer CropScience executives Mike Deall and Alan Ayers. It’s been a couple of decades since I had the opportunity to interview Clayton, so it was a real treat to spend a few minutes with him to get his thoughts on agriculture and trade policy, 2011 and beyond.
As the president of China was flying in for a quick visit to the Windy City on Thursday, representatives from China’s 10 largest soybean crushers were signing agreements to purchase 110 million bushels of U.S. soybeans during a ceremony held in Chicago. The purchase is worth $1.8 billion and more bushels are expected to be committed tomorrow. A similar purchase agreement ceremony in 2008 was largest reported single-day export sale of U.S. soybeans in history, but this buying event – which may be larger – was split into two days.
Korea’s ambassador to the United States is optimistic that Congress will pass the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement when it is submitted by the president.
Here at the U.S. Grains Council International Marketing Conference n this morning’s general session we had a panel discussion on trade with Mexico. In the discussion attendees were able to ask questions and answers. In fact, it was mostly a Q&A session. Allan Mustard, Minister Counselor, Office of Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy, Mexico City, introduced our panel.
The 
The administrator of USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service Michael Michener spoke to the 
In this week's program Chuck talks with Mike Adams, AgriTalk.
