Ag in the News

11/27/2007

National and International

Canada gets no further than U.S. with S. Korea on beef
Two days of talks between Canada and South Korea on beef imports ended last week without agreement and with Seoul indicating it wants to hang onto at least some restrictions, according to Yonhap News. MORE!

Russia reopens meat imports from eight Brazilian states
Russian officials notified the Brazilian government Friday it will reopen its borders to meat imports from eight Brazilians states, a Brazilian official told Meatingplace.com. MORE!

Hitch resigns as NCBA president-elect
Paul Hitch, a cattle producer from Guymon, Okla., has resigned as president-elect of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association to focus on his battle with cancer, NCBA announced Monday. MORE!

Congress members push development of biofuels from non-food crops A delegation of 46 Congress members have sent a letter to House and Senate leaders urging that they consider making non-food c
rops the centerpiece of a new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). MORE!

Beef Checkoff introduces four new beef snacks
The Beef Innovations Group announced four new hand-held beef snacks for children it has researched, created, tested and is now bringing to market. MORE!

Wrap Up

Stock market worries. Worries about the U.S. economy continue to weigh on stock values. The Dow has now fallen 10% from its high, causing some analysts to label this officially a "correction." The action has also seen more money flow into bonds and will keep more pressure on the U.S. dollar. And, it figures to keep outside markets a prominent influence for grain and soybean futures, too.

Farm bill movement. While negotiations continue, indications are that a deal may be near on the number of amendments that will be allowed for the Senate's floor consideration of the farm bill. Nothing has been finalized, but Jim Wiesemeyer outlines what this could mean for farm bill work next week in his Inside Washington Today dispatch on the Pro Farmer page.

EU pork export subsidies? The European Union (EU) may start offering pork export refunds (export subsidies) in an effort to help pork producers in the bloc. A storage program hasn't yielded the desired results and that is prompting the potential move to export subsidies. It will be interesting to see what U.S. officials say in response to this development.

EU and GMOs. EU Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel warned EU farm ministers that the bloc's resistance to GMO crops is a factor in rising feed costs faced by their livestock industry. Germany's ag chief called for a halt to new approvals while the EU assesses how the products can be used in the EU. Plus, the WTO has given the EU on shifting their rules relative to the successful U.S. complaint.