United States corn and wheat organizations are working Capitol Hill this week trying to get a better trade aid deal for growers than in the first round.
Washington insiders say soybean growers made out much better in the first round of trade aid because they were hit hardest when China stopped accepting soybean imports.
U.S. farmers had been the biggest soybean exporters to China in the world.
During the first Market Facilitation Program, soybean producers received a payment of $1.65 per bushel, wheat growers 14 cents per bushel and corn farmers only received one cent per bushel.
The Trump Administration is currently considering another $15 billion in trade aid for U.S. farmers.
According to the latest Association of Equipment Manufacturers sales data, U.S. sales numbers of ag tractors and combines were up in almost every category. Four-wheel-drive tractor sales saw a 32.2 percent growth from April of 2018.
Between the increase of sales between total 2-wheel-drive tractors and 4-wheel-drive tractors, overall farm tractor sales experienced 12 percent growth. However, self-propelled combines did see a 4.2 percent drop in sales.
“While numbers were up for the U.S. in April, the ongoing trade war has AEM concerned about the overall farm machinery market moving forward” said Curt Blades, AEM Senior Vice President of Agriculture.
The National Ag Statistics Service is beginning to collect data from approximately 50,000 farmers and ranchers for its annual Agricultural Resource Management Survey.
The survey looks at all aspects of U.S. agricultural production, including farm financial well-being, chemical usage, and various farm characteristics.
In 2019 the survey will take a closer look at barley, cotton and sorghum production in the United States.
The information producers provide through the survey influences National and State policymaking decisions. In addition, ARMS data are used to calculate the farm sector portion of the Gross Domestic Product.
There’s some big news happening in the beef and dairy industries. That’s because Holstein Association USA and the American Simmental Association are collaborating to release a new branded program called HOLSim. Chip Kemp is the American Simmental Association Director of Commercial and Industry Operations and says HOLSim promises to reshape beef-on-dairy opportunities.
“We are all aware of some of the serious economic pressures that the dairy producers face at this point in time” said Kemp. “Some of those clearly are on the more traditional side of their business, but also on the terminal calf side they’ve faced unparalleled pressures.”
If you would like to learn more about this first-ever partnership across the dairy and beef breeds or view a list of HOLSim-eligible bulls, visit www.holsteinusa.com or www.simmental.org.
-Reported by Russell Nemetz/MTN News
