Ag in the News

04/11/2008

National

Judge denies Tyson's motion to dismiss in antibiotics case
A federal judge on Thursday denied a motion filed by Tyson Foods Inc. to dismiss a request for a preliminary injunction on the Springdale, Ark.-based protein giant's "raised without antibiotics" marketing campaign. MORE!

U.S. House stalls Colombia FTA, possibly others The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday dealt the Bush administration a blow by voting to scrap a trade law requiring Congress to vote on free-trade pacts without revisions within 90 days of receiving them from the president. MORE!

JBS-Swift to better manage wastewater at Neb. beef plant: report
JBS-Swift & Co. officials told the mayor of Grand Island, Neb., the company will take steps to mitigate wastewater discharge from its beef processing plant there, the company's spokesperson told Meatingplace.com. MORE!

USDA bills Hallmark $67 million from recall
USDA sent Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. a bill for $67.2 million on April 4 to cover the cost of 50.3 million pounds of recalled beef the government purchased for school lunch and other federal assistance programs, a USDA official confirmed. MORE!

Chile green lights U.S. poultry imports
Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer on Thursday said that Chile's Livestock and Agricultural Service has approved poultry imports from the United States, effective immediately. MORE!

Wrap Up

Mixed overnight prices. Corn futures were 1 to 2 cents higher and Chicago wheat was 9 to 11 cents higher in overnight trade. Soybean futures were 3 cents lower to 4 cents higher overnight.

U.S.-Korea beef talks. U.S. and South Korean negotiators opened discussions today in Seoul and the talks are expected to run through Monday, according to South Korean officials. But officials from both sides of the talks are continuing to downplay expectations for an overall resolution to the issue when President Bush and South Korea's president meet in the U.S. next week.

Chile shifts rules on poultry. USDA announced late Thursday that Chile has accepted U.S. inspection procedures on poultry, a move which will bolster the ability of U.S. poultry to moving to that country. Chile has grown as a customer for U.S. products since implementation of a free trade agreement with the country.

U.S. ag trade black ink. Data released by USDA for February indicates the U.S. ag trade surplus reached $3.6 billion, and the trade black ink now tallies $15.894 billion for the Oct. 2007-Feb. 2008 period.