John Heisdorffer, a soybean grower from Keota, Iowa, and ASA president said, "This is the first positive news we've seen after months of downturned prices and halted shipments. If this suspension of tariff increases leads to a longer-term agreement, it will be extremely positive for the soy industry. We want to begin repairing damage done to our trade relations with China, which has been essential to successful soybean exports for years."

 

Under the agreement reached on Saturday, tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods will not increase to 25 percent on January 1 from the current 10 percent level. Details have not been announced regarding the quantity of U.S. goods that China will purchase, but the White House statement indicated that purchases of ag products would begin immediately.

U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto signed a new trade agreement on Friday known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Before he signed, Trudeau told Trump the two needed to keep working together to remove tariffs on steel and aluminum.

"This has been a battle, and battles sometimes make great friendships," Trump said at the start of the signing ceremony. In addition, Trump said of the USMCA, "It is probably the largest trade deal ever made."

The USMCA replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, which had created a free trade zone between the three countries back in 1994. The deal will require ratification by all three countries' legislatures before taking effect.

"I have often said that we live in the best neighborhood on Earth - North America - and the signing of a new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada helps cement our highly integrated relationship as nations. President Trump has fulfilled a promise, which many said couldn't be done, to renegotiate NAFTA and improve the standing of the entire American economy, including the agriculture sector," Perdue stated.

"This is good news for American farmers and we now need Congress to follow suit and enact the necessary implementing legislation. I commend President Trump and our U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Lighthizer, for their perseverance, leadership, and hard work."

Farmers and ranchers are being encouraged to consider utilizing the financial and technical assistance of USDA's NRCS program called Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, to help establish habitat that benefits Monarch butterflies and other wildlife as part of the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Project. By increasing Milkweed and other nectar-rich plants, land owners and manager can provide food for Monarchs and other pollinators, such as honey bees, that are vital to agriculture. Producers can accomplish this in a variety of ways, such as brush management, prescribed burning, prescribed grazing, and monarch plantings.

 

Milkweed is in the heart of the butterfly's habitat and migration corridor. Milkweed also provides homes for beneficial insects that control the spread of destructive insects. Conservation practices that provide benefits for pollinators also help reduce erosion, increase soil health, control invasive species, provide quality forage for livestock and make agricultural operations more resilient and productive. These reasons alone, make the re-establishment of such habitat critically important to agriculture in Oklahoma and across the nation.

 

According to NRCS State Conservationist Gary O'Neill, pollinator plantings can be placed in areas that won't inconvenience farmers and that they can also help producers manage their pasture and rangeland. NRCS accepts applications on a continuous basis, but only applications filed by December 21 are eligible for the next round of funding through EQIP. For more information about the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Project or wildlife habitat assistance, click here.

Pecan growers in Oklahoma have enough to worry about, with the weather, disease and everything else that can have a damaging impact on a pecan crop. Unfortunately, producers are now facing yet another threat and one that is growing more and more concerning - wild pigs. As an easily accessible and abundant food source, wild hog populations are decimating pecan crops in the state, especially along the northern edge of the Red River where pecans are readily grown and where some of the highest densities of wild pigs occur.

 

With sparked interest, the Noble Research Institute and Oklahoma State University initiated a study to investigate wild pig habitat use, ecology and damage within agricultural landscapes where pecans are actively grown and harvested. This study has allowed researchers to better understand the behavior of wild pigs in these areas, which will hopefully help producers better protect their crops and control hog populations in the future. However, researchers say while the study has been insightful, there is still a lot to learn.

 

"Despite what we learned about wild pigs, which we can use to our advantage, there are still many factors that make population control difficult," said Stephen Webb, Ph.D., Noble Research Institute ag systems technology manager. "There is always something new to learn about these creatures, so we are continuing our efforts into wild pig control and research."

 

For the full story on this research and its findings, or to read more about wild pigs, click here.

Today, 34 million Americans lack an affordable and reliable broadband connection. Of these, 19.4 million live in rural areas. This digital divide means they are unable to take advantage of economic, health and educational opportunities that exist in other connected communities. Connect Americans Now (CAN) is a Microsoft supported community of concerned citizens, local organizations, rural advocates, and leading innovators committed to taking action to eliminate the digital divide that is holding rural America back. Earlier this month, our Associate Farm Director Carson Horn, had the chance to speak with Zachary Cikanek, national spokesperson for Connect Americans Now. According to him, it is CAN's mission to eliminate the rural digital divide by utilizing a model that includes fiber-based, satellite and wireless technologies, leveraging a range of frequencies including TV white spaces. By adopting a solution that brings a wide array of stakeholders to the table, he says it will be possible to connect millions of Americans in a cost-effective manner over the course of a few years rather than a few decades.


"High-speed broadband internet access for any household is no longer a luxury. It's a necessity in the 21st Century," Cikanek said, remarking on the opportunities that will become available to agricultural producers in these affected areas as a result of gaining access to reliable internet. "If you are not using precision agriculture today, you are going to struggle continuously to stay competitive in a global economy. Farmers in the United States have seen their incomes fall 47 percent over the last five years and the way to succeed requires access to customers around the world. Having robust internet infrastructure is vital to taking advantage of those tools and staying competitive."


Not only will this benefit farmers, it will have a significant impact on the rural communities themselves, allowing communities to take advantage of opportunities such as telemedicine, empowering students to become more informed in critical areas like math and science and also enable small businesses to expand their customer base and attract new industries to their rural communities.


Listen to their complete conversation, by clicking or tapping here, to learn more about Connect Americans Now.