Meatingplace By Rita Jane Gabbett The battle over whether commodity checkoff programs need reform within the context of the farm bill is not over. This week, 102 farm and food organizations sent a letter calling for the U.S. Senate to support inclusion of the Opportunities for Fairness in Farming (OFF) Act, S. 741, in the Senate version of the farm bill. The legislation’s sponsors, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), plan to introduce their legislation as an amendment to Read More …
Category: Media Coverage
Politico | The Farmers’ Perspective Heard in D.C.
POLITICO By Christine Haughney THE FARMERS’ PERSPECTIVE HEARD IN D.C.: It may be one of the most inconvenient times of year for farmers to leave their ranches and fields behind to travel to Washington. But all this week, your host has been chatting with farmers who flocked to Capitol Hill to offer their personal views on the farm bill. “We probably should be in the fields or tending livestock,” said Jake Davis, a family farmer from Central Missouri who raises Read More …
Politico | Cutting off Importers from U.S.A. Labeling
POLITICO By Liz Crampton Beef importers have been able to take advantage of a loophole in regulations that allows them to use “Product of U.S.A.” labels if their goods pass through a USDA-inspected plant, beef groups say. Now, two groups are petitioning the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service to change its policy. The problem became especially acute in 2015, when country-of-origin labeling was repealed, say the American Grassfed Association and the Organization for Competitive Markets. And it is Read More …
The Washington Post | Justice Department approves Bayer-Monsanto merger in landmark settlement
The Washington Post By Brian Fung and Caitlin Dewey Federal antitrust regulators have granted agribusiness giants Bayer and Monsanto permission to merge after the two companies agreed to spin off $9 billion worth of assets, the largest such sale of corporate assets ever required by the Justice Department. Under the proposed settlement filed Tuesday, Bayer will sell its seed and herbicide businesses to a third party, the German chemical company BASF. It also will sell its emerging digital Read More …
Des Moines Register | Merged Bayer-Monsanto will corner the market on farm data and software
Des Moines Register Angela Huffman, Register Opinion contributor Published 11:11 a.m. CT May 14, 2018 (Photo: Kelsey Kremer/The Register) The Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to approve the merger between Bayer and Monsanto. If that happens, the world’s newest and largest seed and chemical company will have more in common with Facebook and Cambridge Analytica than meets the eye. In recent years, large agrochemical companies, including Bayer and Monsanto, have been heavily investing in digital agriculture. This Read More …
Atlanta Journal-Constitution | As ag chief, Perdue takes ax to regulation, becomes point man on trade
Atlanta Journal-Constitution By Tamar Hallerman – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ALEX WONG U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue sees himself as “the bilateral interpreter between the White House and the agricultural community.” (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) LIMA, Ohio —It was clear U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was in his element as a brown and tan RV whisked him through this frigid slice of the Great Lakes region on a recent government road trip. The former Georgia governor had spent the Read More …
Reuters | Brazil’s Marfrig to buy control of U.S.-based National Beef
Reuters By Ana Mano SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s Marfrig Global Foods SA (MRFG3.SA) said on Monday it would buy control of U.S.-based National Beef Packing Co for $969 million, in a deal that would make it the world’s No. 2 beef processor. Martin Secco Arias, Chief Executive Officer of Marfrig Global Foods SA, poses for a photograph after attending a news conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker Marfrig also said it was seeking Read More …
Politico | Livestock Farmers Describe Harm in Pulling GIPSA Rules
Politico’s Morning Agriculture By Sabrina Rodriguez Livestock farmers from Alabama, Nebraska and Kansas outlined in a court brieflast week why they support an ongoing lawsuit against Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue that seeks a judicial review of the withdrawal of two rules aimed at balancing the power between meatpacking companies and contract growers — better know as the GIPSA rules. Alabama poultry farmers Jonathan and Connie Buttram are both plaintiffs in the case that was brought by Democracy Forward, a nonprofit legal group, on Read More …