In a joint letter transmitted yesterday to the White House, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the National Pork Producers Council asked President Trump "to initiate free trade agreement negotiations with nations in the Asia-Pacific region beginning with Japan."

This correspondence comes just ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's state visit here in the US on Friday, where he'll meet with Trump in Washington.

The two leaders are meeting to discuss security challenges but are also expected to talk about trade as well. With Trump having passed on the Trans-Pacific Partnership that was projected to create 9,000 jobs and $876 million in revenue a year, the task at hand will be to strike a bilateral agreement between the US and Japan that ushers in free trade to the region.

"Securing strong market access to Japan and other Asian markets is a priority for the U.S. beef and pork industries, and we appreciate the president's leadership and dedication to making our products the most competitive around the world," said NPPC President John Weber, a pork producer from Dysart, Iowa.

To read more on this story or to view the letter penned by meat industry organizations NCBA and NPPC to President Trump, click here.

The American Soybean Association sent its own letter to Trump yesterday as well. Co-signed by 87 other agricultural groups, the letter called on the administration to reduce and eliminate tariffs and other restrictive agricultural policies in the Asia-Pacific region.

The letter stressed job creation in the U.S. farm sector as a result of international trade, noting that the food and agricultural industry from farm to fork employs more than 15 million Americans.

ASA says it remains committed to engage with President Trump and his administration on the importance of international trade as it affect soy growers across the country.

Get the full story and a look at ASA's letter, by clicking here.

CattleFax CEO Randy Blach, told me in a recent conversation that he believes  the beef industry is working hard, tweaking things here and there, to create more transparency and less volatility in the cattle markets. He says the online cattle trading platform, FedCattleExchange.com, is just what the industry needed.


"Price discovery is such a fundamental part of the way we do business and it is all the way up and down the system, and at the cash level it's imperative," Blach said. "I don't see wholesale or retail markets as being an opportunity for us to establish a base price."


FedCattleExchange.com gives traders a test of the value of cattle earlier in the week, as opposed to watching whatever activity happens late in the day on Friday afternoons.


"That's not very helpful for anybody in the marketplace," Blach said. "Anything we can do to see points of price discovery, earlier in the week, will be very, very helpful for what we're all trying to achieve in the long-run."


Listen to my full interview for Blach's complete thoughts on creating transparency in the cattle market, on yesterday's Beef Buzz - click here.

The Trump administration Tuesday extended the deadline for submitting comments on a regulation related to the buying and selling of livestock, a move hailed by the National Pork Producers Council, which opposes the Obama-era rule.


The so-called Farmer Fair Practices Rules, written by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), include two proposed regulations and an interim final rule, comments on which now are due by March 24.


NPPC is most concerned with the latter, which would broaden the scope of the Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA) of 1921 on the use of "unfair, unjustly discriminatory or deceptive practices" and "undue or unreasonable preferences or advantages." Specifically, the regulation would deem such actions per se violations of federal law even if they didn't harm competition or cause competitive injury, prerequisites for winning PSA cases.


"We're very pleased that the Trump administration has extended the time we have to educate regulators about the devastating effects this rule would have on America's pork producers," said NPPC President John Weber, a pork producer from Dysart, Iowa. "The regulation likely would restrict the buying and selling of livestock, lead to consolidation of the livestock industry - putting farmers out of business - and increase consumer prices for meat."

Click here to continue reading the complete story.

Over the past three decades, the Animal Agriculture Alliance has helped the industry anticipate and respond to campaigns from anti-animal agriculture groups across the U.S. and engage with a public that is increasingly disconnected from production agriculture. This year they celebrate  their 30th anniversary advocating and defending agriculture. The Alliance's President and CEO Kay Johnson Smith spoke with me during the NCBA and Cattle Industry Convention last week about this milestone for the organization.

Many things have changed since the Alliance was founded, she says, such as the household adoption of the Internet and the emergence of social media for example - but the organization's passion and commitment to securing the future of animal agriculture remains steadfast.

"The Alliance has grown not only in numbers of members and staff but also in its understanding of strategies used by activists and its own tactics to ensure agriculture's voice is a key part of the conversations," said Johnson Smith "We have become more adept at identifying threats, developing proactive responses and coordinating diverse interests to provide a strong, unified voice for agriculture."

Read more about the Alliance, listen to my interview with Johnson Smith or watch a video released by the Alliance in
celebration of it's 30th anniversary, by clicking here.

Earlier this month, students in the Oklahoma State University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources chartered the first Collegiate American Farmers & Ranchers student organization.


CAFR offers agricultural students an opportunity to grow their leadership skills with emphasis on education, cooperation and legislation by meeting with agricultural professionals in Oklahoma.


As vice president of the budding group, Ag-Econ junior Ryan Danker says he is excited to take part in introducing students at OSU to the organization he grew up participating in as part of its youth programs.

Learn more about this new opportunity for collegiate students to get involved in the AFR organization, by clicking here.

Make plans to attend the 3rd Annual Oklahoma Farmers Market and Agritourism Conference and Expo, scheduled for February 23rd at the Embassy Suite in Oklahoma City.


There is no cost to attend the conference, however, attendees are asked to register by February 20th.


The focus of the conference this year is about increasing the presence of local food in Oklahoma communities.


Jen Cheek, National Farmers Market Coalition executive director, will serve as keynote speaker for the event. She will share her expertise on how the farmers market movement in Oklahoma compares with movements in other states.


Enjoy breakout sessions, led by experienced vendors, market managers and topical experts. Topics cover a wide range of interest areas, including social media marketing, accepting SNAP and senior benefits, community engagement, starting a farmers market, table displays, sourcing to local distributors, niche fruit and nut farming, hosting cooking demonstrations and more. 

For more information about the conference, how to register or to learn about a pre-conference grant writing class and a post-conference agritourism rolling tour - click here.