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Upcoming Event: Please join AGree on Tuesday, December 11 from 11:30-1:30 ET for the next AGree discussion series event: "Blockchain Applications for Agriculture". You can learn more and register for this DC event here. Remote dial-in access is available for those joining outside Washington, DC.
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Farm Bill Release Seems Likely to Be Pushed to Next Week -- Politico Pro
Source: Politico
December 3, 2018
Helena Bottemiller Evich
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“House and Senate agriculture leaders are likely to delay release of the farm bill conference report until early next week, according to a GOP aide. Lawmakers had been planning to release the final bill on Tuesday, but the rollout has been delayed as Congress honors the passing of former President George H.W. Bush. The former president is lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda beginning this evening. The House is also not planning to hold any votes this week, according to the majority leader’s office. President Donald Trump and congressional leaders are expected to agree to a two-week extension to fund the government past Dec. 7, a move that will give lawmakers more time to seek passage of a final version of the farm bill, H.R. 2 (115), through both the House and Senate. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been scheduled to appear at a GOP whip meeting on Tuesday evening to promote the bill, but that appearance has now been canceled. “I think the negotiators are gonna use that time of relief to just hammer out maybe some final details in the farm bill," Perdue said during a speech at an Illinois Farm Bureau event in Chicago on Monday. "Hopefully, we will see it by the first of next week.” “We believe things are gonna be relatively good," Perdue said. "We didn’t get everything that we would like in there. But frankly that doesn’t deal much with production agriculture.””
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U.S. Farmers Have Little to Cheer from China Trade Truce, So Far -- Bloomberg
Source: Bloomberg
December 3, 2018
Alfred Cang
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“For a soybean farmer in Iowa or Illinois, it may be premature to celebrate the ceasefire in the trade war between the U.S. and China. After all, there’s still no sign of any easing in the 25 percent retaliatory tariff that China levies on imports of American soybeans, and while the U.S. said China agreed at the summit in Buenos Aires to immediately restart purchases of agricultural products, this wasn’t mentioned in the Chinese statement. Plus, market moves on Monday in reaction to news of the truce have so far only worsened crushing margins in China, with benchmark soybean futures rising in Chicago and soybean meal and soybean oil declining in Dalian. An indicative calculation based simply on futures, exchange rates and prevailing taxes, shows a profit of about $13 a metric ton for processing U.S. beans in China. But that doesn’t include freight, insurance or other fees. So, the market doubts there can be any commercial purchases without a cut in tariffs, said Monica Tu, an analyst at researcher Shanghai JC Intelligence Co. “I see little incentive for Chinese commercial crushers to buy U.S. soybeans right now unless the 25 percent tariff is lifted, or U.S. farmers cut prices even more,” Tu said by text message. Any purchases made in the current conditions would probably be to supply state inventories, she said. China has indicated it could reimburse the cost of the 25 percent tariff if the cargoes are imported for state reserves, according to people familiar with the matter. The different statements issued by the U.S. and China on the outcome of the meeting between President Donald Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping at the weekend highlight how much needs to be achieved in the next three months if the U.S. soybean farmer is to find any kind of solace from rising stockpiles.”
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Trump Says He Plans to Withdraw from Nafta -- The New York Times
Source: The New York Times
December 2, 2018
Glenn Thrush
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“President Trump announced his intention late Saturday to quickly withdraw the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement, a move intended to force House Democrats to enact a revised version of the pact despite concerns that it fails to protect American workers…If the president follows through on his threat, congressional leaders will have six months to pass the measure. The agreement has been losing support in recent days as Democratic lawmakers, ready to take control of the House in January, reckon with fallout from the announcement last week that General Motors was planning to idle five plants in North America. If no deal can be reached, both versions of the treaty would be void, which would result in far more restrictive trade that could have a severe impact on industry and agriculture in all three nations, economists have warned…The president’s Nafta move is the first indication of how he plans to deal with the new Democratic majority. Mr. Trump seems to have opted for diplomacy at the end of a political barrel, telling reporters on Saturday that Democrats “will have a choice” of whether to approve the deal as written or risk the consequences…Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader who is likely to be elected speaker, cast doubt on the likelihood that the deal could be passed without significant new assurances from Mexico that labor standards in the agreement will be strictly enforced…A spokesman for Mrs. Pelosi did not say on Sunday if the president’s move would accelerate her timetable or alter her negotiating strategy. “It’s disappointing but not surprising that President Trump would try to force Congress to reinstate the status quo of Nafta, instead of working constructively with Congress to improve his proposed agreement to actually protect and strengthen American workers,” said the spokesman, Henry Connelly.”
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Put More Carbon in Soils to Meet Paris Climate Pledges -- Nature
Source: Nature
December 3, 2018
Cornelia Rumpel, Farshad Amiraslani, Lydie-Stella Koutika, Pete Smith, David Whitehead, and Eva Wollenberg
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(Article Summarized by Meridian Institute) In this commentary, in the journal Nature, the authors, members of the scientific and technical committee for the 4p1000 initiative that works to promote research and actions to increase soil carbon stocks by 4 parts per 1,000 per year, note: “Soils are crucial to managing climate change.” If we could, they say, increase the carbon content of the world’s soils by just a few parts per thousand each year, we could remove an amount of CO2 from the atmosphere equivalent to the fossil fuel emissions of the European Union. Such a feat would also boost soil health and lead to enhanced crop yields. Yet, they note, one-third of the world’s soils are degraded due to poor farming practices, industry and urbanization. In November 2017, delegates at the Bonn climate conference established the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture program to help farmers reduce emissions and maintain food security in a changing climate. The program will hold its first workshop this week at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Katowice, Poland. The authors call on the countries involved in the Koronivia process to establish a body to monitor soil carbon in farmland, map changes to it and reclaim degraded areas. All involved, they write, should focus on these eight steps: Stop carbon loss; Promote carbon uptake; Monitor, report and verify impacts; Deploy technology; Test strategies; Involve communities; Coordinate policies; and, Provide support. In addition, researchers, policymakers and land managers need to recognize that soil carbon stocks must be increased, and carbon-rich soils must be protected, if we are to achieve the Paris climate targets and SDGs. International funding agencies need to provide a pool of money to address urgent research gaps. “As the Koronivia summit begins, governments must pledge funds to bring together soil experts, donors and policymakers to act on soil carbon storage,” the authors conclude.
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COLORADO RIVER: Ariz. Makes Progress on Drought Plan -- Greenwire
Source: Greenwire
December 3, 2018
The Associated Press
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“Arizona says it's one step closer to figuring out how to divvy up water cuts as the supply from the Colorado River becomes more limited. Several Western states that rely on the river are working on drought plans. The federal government wants them done by the end of the year. While Arizona hasn't said it would meet that deadline, a committee meeting on the issue announced Thursday it is making progress. The plan isn't final, including how to fund it…Arizona — long seen as the holdout among the river's lower basin states — has been at a stalemate as it wrestled with how to compensate water users that are expected to face the deepest cuts when Lake Mead falls to a certain level or find water to replace those cuts. The committee includes tribes, cities, farming and ranching interests, developers and the state. Lake Mead has a more than 50 percent chance of not being able deliver all the water allocated to the lower basin states in 2020. The drought plan would commit Arizona, Nevada and, eventually, California to deeper cuts so Lake Mead doesn't dip to a level at which no water could be released downstream. Mexico also has agreed to cutbacks. In the latest proposal from Arizona, the state would lose about 500,000 acre-feet of water, about one-third of its annual supply that flows to its most populous areas, if a water shortage is declared in 2020. The proposal would help lessen the blow for Pinal County farmers, cities and tribes. The farmers would be switched to groundwater before the drought plan expires in 2026. That's when water users are scheduled to renegotiate the 2007 guidelines they're operating under now.”
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About the AGree Newsfeed
The AGree NewsFeed highlights important stories surrounding domestic and international food and agriculture to foster inclusive dialogue and raise awareness. It reflects the public conversation on food and agriculture and is not an endorsement of the articles summarized.
AGree drives positive change in the food and agriculture system by connecting and challenging leaders from diverse communities to catalyze action and elevate food and agriculture as a national priority. To learn more, please visit www.foodandagpolicy.org.
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