While meeting with Mexican Secretary of Agriculture José Calzada Rovirosa, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today held a teleconference for U.S. media. The two leaders engaged in bilateral talks, including a panel discussion with U.S. and Mexican producers, several agricultural site visits, and a joint press conference – seeking to build on the U.S. and Mexico’s well-developed track record …
Biodiesel Industry Considering Options Against Argentina
The U.S. biodiesel industry is considering legal options as imports of subsidized biodiesel have continued to increase since the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) Fair Trade Coalition filed an antidumping petition in March alleging that dumped biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia have injured U.S. producers. “What we’re seeing is a vast amount of imports continue to flood into our ports,” …
Mexico’s Adoption of E10 Applauded
It looks like Mexico is jumping deeper into ethanol as a renewable fuel. The Mexican Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) announced recently a change that will increase the maximum amount of ethanol that can be blended in Mexican gas supplies from 5.8 percent to 10 percent, except in the cities of Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City. The announcement modifies the Mexican …
U.S. Beef Regaining Access to China
Following one more round of technical consultations, China is to allow imports of U.S. beef on “conditions consistent with international food safety and animal health standards and consistent with the 1999 Agricultural Cooperation Agreement, beginning as soon as possible but no later than July 16, 2017.” The announcement was welcome news for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). National Cattlemen’s …
ASTA Pleased with New International Seed Standard
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) is pleased with the passage of a final International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) for Seed during the recent International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) in Korea. American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Senior Director of Seed Health and Trade Ric Dunkle, who attended the IPPC, says ASTA has been advocating for a seed ISPM for …
Expanding Africa’s Access to Ag Technology
Another session at the 2017 Water for Food Global Conference was “Upscaling Solutions: Expanding access to irrigation for smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa.” This session explored how public and private sector investors can support smallholder-irrigated agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve greater yield gains and improve livelihoods. The presentation included a whitepaper synthesis of case studies relevant to this topic. One …
2017 #Water4Food is a Wrap
Based on the theme that global breakthroughs come from local action, the 2017 Water for Food Global Conference was successful in bringing that perspective to water and food security issues. “Agriculture and water wherever you are in your locality, it’s going to be different,” said Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute executive director Peter McCornick. “But many of the factors …
Water for Food Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa
More than 400 world experts working to develop new approaches to producing more food with less stress on water resources are in Lincoln, Nebraska this week for the 2017 Water for Food Global Institute at Nebraska Innovation Campus. A big focus of the event this year is finding ways to increase access to sustainable irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa with a …
IFAJ Honors 2017 Contest Winners
I absolutely love this photo. So did the judges of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Star Prize for photography contest. Here’s what it’s all about: Australian photographer Jacqui Bateman has won the 2017 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Star Prize for Photography for her “Naked Truth” photo, which ran in Stock Journal magazine. She was honored at IFAJ’s …
FMC to Acquire Portion of Dupont Crop Protection
In an early morning call FMC and DuPont made a major announcement: FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) and DuPont (NYSE: DD) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement for FMC to acquire the portion of DuPont’s Crop Protection business it must divest to comply with the European Commission ruling related to its merger with The Dow Chemical Company. Additionally, DuPont …