American Ag Today- 11/13/24

And thank you for joining us here for a new episode of American Ag today produced by the American Ag Radio Network. I'm your host Jesse Allen. Thanks for joining us. Well, Steve Hanson, a rancher from Nebraska was elected chair of the U.S. Meet Export Federation at the organization's strategic planning conference at Tucson, Arizona last week. Hanson says a priority for him will be the partnerships with various checkoffs that support the work of USMEF around the globe.

The checkoffs are one of the ways we invest in ourselves. You know, because if we don't tell our story, somebody else will and probably won't be in the way we want it to. The checkoffs have done great things on research for nutrition. You know, we have become great environmentalists because of it. Our stewardship of our cattle, we learn how to handle our cattle better. And this is because the check off dollar invests its money back into the farming community and the ranching community so that we can do a better job.

Hanson says the strength of USMEF comes from the involvement of all of the diverse sectors of the red meat industry. It's got producers, it's got exports, it's got packers, it's got a lot of different avenues. There's grain producers, everybody performs a part in this and it takes all of us and we all have to be healthy to have a good economy in the meat business.

You know, one thing I like to say is I've never gotten a bad check from a packer. They take a lot of bad wraps, but I guarantee you their money is always good and they take really good care of our cattle once they get them there. And, you know, for us to get them there in the right kind of shape and do it with the right genetics, it's been a learning process, but it's something we all do. And it takes all sectors.

The grain people got it to give us good quality grain. We've got to raise good quality animals. And the Packer gets a good job of processing them. And then you've got your exporters. They play a crucial role in getting our product overseas and in a good shape.

enhancing succeeds randy sprock a hog and grain producer for minnesota who has served as u.s. mef chair for the past year for more about the u.s. beat export federation and the strategic planning conference you can visit their website u.s. mef dot o.r.g. well many ag groups have been congratulating president elect donald trump on his return to the white house to serve as the forty seventh president of the united states american ag networks corinna luru

has more in this report. AFB President Zibi Duvall says it's now time to put politics aside and finish a new five year farm bill. We've been pushing hard to get a farm bill done. Our farmers need it. We kicked the can down road too long. And if you look back over the last five years of this farm bill, we've lost 141,000 farmers. So we know that we need a new modernized farm bill.

Expected new Ag Chair in the next GOP-led Senate, John Bozeman says the panel will provide producers the policies and support they desperately need to remain viable. Duval also expects President Trump to help prevent impending tax hikes next year before his 2017 cuts expire, placing another crushing cost burden on farmers. On the flip side, Duval's concerned about Trump's vow to impose stiff import tariffs that sparked trade wars the last time around.

When tariffs are put on other countries, a lot of times agriculture community carries the blunt of the retaliation of what comes with those tariffs. It restricts the markets, lowers prices, and that's bad for farmers and ranchers.

National Farmers Union joined AFB in congratulating President-elect Trump and hope to work with him on high input costs, weather disasters, and the lack of a farm bill. At the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Ethan Lane says after working with Trump's administration, with Trump's first administration, NCBA expects the president-elect to try to reduce the burdens on business. That means lowering taxes. That means rolling back some of the regulatory red tape that makes it hard for businesses to operate.

It means continuing to build his legacy in the court system, where we've already seen a tremendously improved landscape on issues like WOTUS. Where the Supreme Court narrowed EPA's permit authority over wetlands and that of all agencies to end run the courts. And like AFB, Lane says NCBA's cautious on tariffs, holding trading partners accountable, he says, but open new markets. I'm Corinne LaRue.

Thanks korean for that report and as folks are lining up to try and secure spots in president elect Donald Trump's administration speculation has already been rolling on who might be the next secretary of agriculture come january some of the top names that have been mentioned for weeks now include texas and commissioner sid miller former ambassador kip tom and nazda ceo ted mckinney

Other names being mentioned as potential pigs for secretary of agriculture include North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum also being mentioned former House ad committee chairman Mike Conway of Texas representative Thomas Massey from Kentucky and Abel Maldonado former lieutenant governor of California. Also former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a contender for the post as well.

Well, a proposal to face out large livestock operations in a major California agricultural county failed. California voters in the major agricultural region of Sonoma County overwhelmingly voted down a controversial ballot proposal to phase out large farms and a win for the meat industry. The ballot initiative measures three, which about 85% of the voters opposed would have banned large livestock farms, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations or CAFOs.

Proponents said the measure would protect animal welfare as well as provide a national model to transform food systems away from large scale agriculture. Around two dozen CAFOs operate in Sedoma County, including four owned by poultry giant Purdue farms. However, the majority of the state's CAFOs are in California Central Valley. The ballot measure in the rural county spurred broad pushback from farmers who expressed concern that the loss of large farms could have ripple effects throughout the agricultural economy.

One more than 50 U.S. lawmakers are urging the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the use of a weed killer linked to Parkinson's disease and other health risks to humans. In a letter to the agency, seven U.S. senators said that Paraquat, a chemical commonly used on farms across the country to protect row crops, fruits and vegetables, and more as a highly toxic pesticide whose continued use cannot be justified given its harms to farm workers and rural communities.

The call for nationwide ban came after 47 U.S. representatives sent a similar letter to the EPA earlier in October. According to findings from a recent study, Paraquat could more than double a person's odds of developing Parkinson's if not sprayed more than 500 meters from where people live and work.

And finally here on American AG today, a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that some dairy farm employees showed signs of infection even when they didn't report feeling sick. The CDC concluded that more bird flu testing of dairy farm employees is required.

The purpose of these actions is to keep workers safe to limit the transmission of H5N1 to humans and to reduce the possibility of the virus changing. The new CDC study provides the largest window to date into how the bird virus detected last March and dairy cows may be spreading to people.

The study suggests the virus has infected more humans than the 46 farm workers currently identified in the US. Nearly all were in contact with infected dairy cows or infected poultry. A scientific community considers every additional infection in animals or humans a chance for the virus to change in potentially dangerous ways.

That is a look at news of agriculture here today on American Ag today produced by the American Ag Radio Network. Thanks for joining us. I'm Jesse Allen. Have a great rest of your day.