China says they win WTO poultry dispute with U.S.

Chinese state media says the World Trade Organization has ruled in China’s favor in a dispute over chicken exports to the United States. China Daily says Beijing has received word from the WTO that the ruling will be announced in one or two months opening the U.S. market to Chinese finished chicken breasts.

The two countries halted imports of each other’s chicken in 2004 in the midst of the avian influenza outbreak. China has reopened their borders to some U.S. chicken imports but complained to the WTO that the U.S. has not reciprocated.

Monsanto technologies receive EU approval

The European Union has given regulatory approval to two of Monsanto’s corn technology combinations—Genuity VT Double PRO and YieldGard VT Triple. 

The decision covers the import, processing and food and feed use of grain and processed products.  The final step in the approval process is publication of the decision by the European Commission.

Monsanto says the YieldGard VT Triple technology is estimated to be on nearly 30 percent of corn acres in the U.S. this year.

South Korean retailer selling t-bone steaks

The third-largest retail food chain in South Korea has begun selling t-bone steaks from the U.S. at its 85 locations across the country. This is the first time the cut has been offered since South Korea resumed imports of beef from the U.S.  Junil Park with the U.S. Meat Export Federation says it demonstrates “the traction U.S. beef is gaining in Korea.”

The food retailer is also featuring U.S. tenderloins and striploins and now carries six chilled U.S. beef cuts and eight frozen beef items, and dedicates 30 percent of its imported beef section to U.S. products.

Through May of this year, South Korea has overtaken Japan and Egypt to become the third largest market for US beef importing a total of 37 117 tonnes of US beef in the first five months of 2010, up 66% on the same period last year. These purchases were worth $163 million – almost double the figure for January-May 2009.

Russia suffering worst drought in 40 years

Russian officials say that country is experiencing its worst drought in nearly 40 years.

Russia’s presidential advisor on climate says Russia has not seen such an overwhelming drought since 1972.  The USDA has confirmed that all of Russia’s major spring wheat producing districts, including Siberia and Volga, have been subject to severe and persistent drought.

According to a report on agrimarketing.com, about 20 percent of Russia’s wheat crop has been lost to the extended heat wave.  A private Russian analyst now sees wheat production at less than 75 million tons versus the official forecast of 85 million tons.

Columbian official pushes for FTA ratification

Columbia’s ambassador to the U.S. is warning that, unless the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries is ratified soon, U.S. ag exports to Columbia will continue to decline.

Ambassador Carolina Barco points out that, since 2002, Columbia has gone from having two FTA’s with five countries to currently having 11 FTAs with 47 countries.  Barco says Columbia has a preference to deal with the U.S. as a way to strengthen Columbia’s economy.  But she says the lack of a ratified FTA with the U.S. definitely has a cost if it’s not carried out.  U.S. ag exports to Columbia in 2008 were nearly one-point-two billion dollars.  But they dropped to roughly 600-million dollars in 2009, with corn and wheat seeing the biggest losses.

Organic certification funds available in Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s organic farmers and processors are invited to apply for funding to help pay their annual organic certification costs. Applications for this cost-share program, which reimburses up to $750 or 75 percent of certification costs, are being accepted through October 29.

Federal funding for the program is distributed by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture through a cooperative agreement with USDA National Organic Program.

All certified organic farms and handlers are eligible for cost share funds on a first-come, first-served basis. This cycle reimburses costs for the period of October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010.

“Application materials have been mailed out to over 1,500 farmers and handlers on our list,” said Laura Paine, coordinator of the program for DATCP. “We encourage people to contact us if they don’t receive the packet.”

Application materials are available on-line here: or may be requested from Paine at 608-224-5120 or via email at laura.paine@wi.gov.

Tough times for Brazil’s corn growers

According to a DTN report, the profit picture for Brazilian corn growers is very bleak right now, as prices remain below the cost of production in most regions of the country.

According to Brazil’s national farm group CNA, excess supply and high transportation costs have squeezed the profit out of corn this season, especially in far-reaching frontier regions such as Mato Grosso.  CNA says that, with prices as low as two dollars and twenty cents per bushel, farmers in Mato Grosso are registering an average loss of one dollar and seventy-cents per bushel.

In some parts of Brazil, farmers are in the process of harvesting their second-crop corn.  The winter corn harvest is about 50 percent complete.

Russia bans pork from U.S. plants

Russia has banned pork from two more U.S. packing plants. USDA says no reason has been given but Russia will halt shipments from the Smithfield plants in Clinton and Tar Heel, North Carolina effective August 2nd. Tar Heel is the largest pork plant in the world.

No comment from Smithfield.

USDA also reports Russia has banned pork from the Seaboard Foods plant in Guymon, Oklahoma retroactive to July 10th.

U.S. beef sales in Korea on the rise

When the latest meat export statistics were compiled last week, South Korea stood out as the largest growth market for U.S. beef exports.

Korea overtook Japan and Egypt to become the number three volume market for U.S. beef, increasing 66 percent over last year’s pace. The individual in charge of the U.S. Meat Export Federation’s (USMEF) Asia Pacific region, Joel Haggard, credits a multi-media imaging campaign for the turnaround. He says it started with focus group interviews with Korean consumers.

“A couple of points that came out after talking after talking to a number of consumers and a number of focus groups; we need to abolish the negative image of BSE and the factory farm, we need to show the U.S. industry commitment preferably from the producer,” said Haggard.

And Haggard says Korean consumers responded positively to a producer-focused message.

“There was receptivity by consumers to a message which was incorporating something like someone like me,” said Haggard. “I’m in the United States. I’m a producer. But, I’m kind of like you. I have a family. I have kids. I care about the safety of the food I eat. These were some of the touch points.”

Haggard says Korean consumers are more confident in U.S. beef—and much more ready to buy.

“The confidence is coming back now,” said Haggard. “The consumers walking in the store- they won’t automatically pass by the U.S. beef tasting booth. And all the analysis shows that if you get them in the store tasting it your chances of selling it are much higher. Let them taste the product. Let them taste the quality. Let them re-familiarize themselves with the product they have shunned for six or seven years.”

In the month of May, beef exports to Korea were more than three times the volume seen in May 2009.

More farmland owned by foreign interests

The USDA reports that, as of March 1st, 2009, foreign interests owned 22.2 million acres of U.S. agricultural land. That is as increase of 1.3 million acres from the previous year and equates to 1.7 percent of all privately held U.S. agricultural land.

Canadians are the largest group in the survey. The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Germany also rank high. The states with the highest proportions of foreign owned ag land are Maine, Hawaii, Washington, Nevada and Alabama.

Next Page »