Air Force One | Reuters — Syngenta, the world’s largest crop chemicals company, has commitments to sell its entire supply of a genetically modified (GM) corn variety that is not approved by China, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Friday. Vilsack said whether or not China eventually approves the corn, known as Agrisure Viptera or MIR
Syngenta will sell GM corn not approved by China, Vilsack says
EU, U.S. leaders launch free-trade talks
The United States and the European Union launched negotiations for the world’s most ambitious free-trade deal on Monday, promising thousands of new jobs and accelerated growth on both sides of the Atlantic. Trade between Europe and the U.S. is worth almost $3 billion a day and a pact could boost both the EU and U.S.
U.S. fiscal plan averts ‘dairy cliff’
A deal approved by the U.S. Congress late on Tuesday to avoid the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff" also includes measures to avert the "dairy cliff" — a steep increase in milk prices. The tax agreement contains a nine-month fix for expiring farm subsidy programs by extending a 2008
Biodiesel fraud roils U.S. industry
Jennifer Case had big plans for expansion of her small San Diego plant that turns used restaurant cooking oil into biodiesel fuel after it sold out its entire production of about 1.5 million gallons in 2011. By the end of the year, business had taken a "devastating turn," Case told lawmakers at a Capitol Hill
Expect More U. S.-China Farm Trade Tension
Chinese farm exports are set to become a greater source of trade tension as China boosts its production and becomes a bigger player in world markets for labor-intensive crops, a U. S. agricultural economist said Feb. 19. Importers around the globe have already launched more than 30 farm trade cases against China in recent years,
Obama Export Plan Nudges Farm Trade Agenda Forward
U. S. farm exporters are relieved that trade has finally made it on to President Barack Obama’s agenda, although his new goal to double U. S. exports in five years might be a little too optimistic. After a year when farm expor ters wondered aloud whether the administration even had a trade policy, Obama linked
World Bank To Start Agriculture Fund With $1.5 Billion
The World Bank will start a trust fund to boost agriculture in poor countries with an initial $1.5 billion, its president Robert Zoellick said Nov. 24, warning of the risk of another food price crisis. Crop shortages in India and the Philippines combined with increased speculation in commodity markets by investment funds have increased the
USDA Finds More Show Pigs With H1N1 Flu Virus
Six pigs shown at the Minnesota State Fair last month have been confirmed as having had the pandemic H1N1 flu virus, the U. S. Agriculture Department said Oct. 29. The USDA said it is running confirmatory tests on samples from another six pigs that tested positive for the virus during preliminary tests. Some of those
Guidelines Could Help Improve Farmland Deals
A draft of the first-ever international code of conduct for farmland deals should be ready by the end of the year, the head of the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development said. The draft document will lead to more discussion about how to ensure deals benefit host nations, as well as those seeking to
U. S. Eyes Flexibility In Allocating Food Aid
The Obama administration wants more flexibility in how it allocates food aid dollars to complement its new strategy to help small farmers in poor countries boost their food production, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Oct. 16. Vilsack and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is leading the adminstration’s three-year, $3.5-billion global food security initiative, did
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