Washington DC - April 9 - The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report provides USDA’s comprehensive forecasts of supply and demand for major U.S. and global crops and U.S. livestock.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - March 29 - Democratic Members of the House Ways and Means Committee sent a letter to President Barack Obama renewing their call for immediate and effective action to address trade barriers which have exacerbated unsustainable trade deficits.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - March 12 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA will expand guidance currently in place for loans to contract poultry operations meant to protect them from questionable business practices to include contract pork operations.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - March 9 - The fifth edition of the Power of Meat, a joint study by the American Meat Institute and the Food Marketing Institute, finds that the recession is continuing to impact food purchasing and consumption behavior, including the meat department.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - January 15 - National Farmers Union and the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association submitted a joint letter to United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk, urging a vigorous defense of the country of origin labeling (COOL) law at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - January 11 - The American Meat Institute (AMI) told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) violates the United States’ international trade obligations for many reasons and that the U.S. must honor these obligations.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - January 11 - In 2009, weak profit margins for producers of beef, pork and poultry led to reductions in supply as 2010 begins which means a more favorable supply situation. However, questions still remain on the demand side of the equation, reports livestock economist John Anderson of Mississippi State University.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - January 8 - In comments submitted to the Department of Justice, The American Meat Institute (AMI) said that existing anti-trust and competition statutes are equally applicable and effective for the meat industry and all industries, and that efforts to regulate the meat industry in a unique way are ill-conceived.

To read their statement, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - December 21 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that it will solicit further public comments on the proposed rule, “Nutrition Labeling of Single-Ingredient Products and Ground or Chopped Meat and Poultry Products.”

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - December 3 - The American Farm Bureau Federation welcomed the news just announced that the Agriculture Department will publish a final rule that will increase fairness and equity for poultry producers.

To read their remarks, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - December 2 - The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the dates and locations of joint public workshops to explore competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry.

For more on this subject, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - October 26 - Speakers at Farm Bureau’s second annual commodity outlook conference painted a “cautiously optimistic” outlook for U.S. agriculture, with crop and dairy producers likely faring better than livestock producers who will still face challenges in the year ahead.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - October 13 - Technology developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists that automatically scans poultry carcasses for contamination has been successfully tested in a commercial poultry plant.

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Washington DC - October 9 - The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced that the United States has asked the World Trade Organization to establish a dispute settlement panel regarding the European Union’s (EU) restrictions on imports of U.S. poultry.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - September 28 - The National Pork Producers Council commended conferees on the agriculture appropriations bill with respect to potential imports of poultry products from China. The U.S. pork industry has a compelling interest in making sure that foreign governments base their trade decisions on science.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE