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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Saturday, December 21, 2024
China will no longer require small hog farmers to seek environmental approval before breeding pigs in an effort to rebuild its hog herd following widespread outbreaks of African Swine Fever, according to Reuters.
Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow is seeking a federal ethics investigation into a business deal between former Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and agribusiness giant Archers Daniels Midland. The Washington Post reported this week that Perdue in early 2017 purchased an ADM soybean facility for $250,000 that was worth millions.
There are still a lot of Brazilian soybeans filling up China's port stocks, and that’s expected to continue for at least another month. But the Chinese are not waiting to commit to buying up U.S. soybeans for delivery in the 2021-22 marketing year, according to analysts and USDA data.
A veteran senior Senate staffer, Fitzhugh Elder, will be taking over as GOP staff director for the Senate Agriculture Committee next month, sources tell Agri-Pulse. He will replace Martha Scott Poindexter, who’s moving to the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
China has been reporting some new outbreaks of African swine fever in recent months, but the problem is likely much worse than it appears. That’s both an opportunity for U.S. pork producers and a threat to their herds, according to U.S. industry and government officials.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he’ll make sure the Treasury Department understands the importance of stepped-up basis to farm groups. Vilsack was pressed about that issue during an appearance Wednesday before the House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee.
Some 300 corporations, including some industry giants in the agriculture and food industry, are calling on President Joe Biden to commit the U.S. to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 from 2005 levels.
China is on a corn-buying spree. USDA has announced large daily export sales for the 2020-21 marketing year on four of the five days this week, culminating with a sale of 800,000 metric tons to Chinese buyers on Friday.
House Democrats are gearing up to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act to reform the H-2A visa program and legalize undocumented workers. But the path ahead in the Senate for an ag labor bill is as difficult as ever, especially with the surge of migrants at the border.
