Trade war impact on ag exports was greater than it appears, say economist
An analysis by five economists says the Sino-U.S. trade war cut far deeper into U.S. farm exports to China than it appears in a simple tallying of sales before and after the tariffs were announced.
Lippman awarded NAS prize for research into hardier crops
Genetics professor Zachary Lippman is the winner of the 2020 Prize in Food and Agricultural Sciences, announced the National Academy of Sciences on Wednesday. The honor is awarded annually to a mid-career scientist making extraordinary contributions to agriculture or biology.
Talks & Eats – Manhattan – Surf ‘n’ Turf: Can our seafood survive Big Ag and climate change?
As oceans warm, our major fisheries are shifting. At the same time, farm runoff is contributing to dead zones from the Gulf of Mexico to Long Island. Both of these issues – climate change and farming practices – affect the health of ocean ecosystems and, ultimately, the seafood that winds up on our plates. Join moderator and best-selling author Paul Greenberg for a stimulating discussion Feb. 10, 2020, 7:30 p.m., at Subculture in Greenwich Village. VIP reception with drinks and bites beforehand.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Major backing for Memphis Meats (Bloomberg): The cultivated-meat company raised $161 million in a round of funding, about as much as has been invested in all faux-meat companies together so far.
U.S. to overhaul grazing rules (Drovers): The Bureau of Land Management said in the Federal Register that it plans to update regulations for livestock grazing on 155 million acres of federal land in the West and announced four public hearings to gather input on grazing rules.
Rural branch banks disappear (Daily Yonder): About 40 percent of rural counties experienced a net loss of branch banks in the five years ending in 2017, according to the Federal Reserve, and 39 lower-income counties, mostly in the Plains and Southwest, lost at least half of the few branch banks they had at the start of the period.
Low corn, soy returns in 2020 (farmdoc Daily): Growers are likely to see low returns on corn and soybean crops this year, as they did in 2019, unless yields are higher than average or there is a new round of Trump tariff payments, said University of Illinois economist Gary Schnitkey.
A more toxic landscape for bees (Science Daily): The rising use of neonicotinoid seed treatments for corn and soybeans is the primary reason that the U.S. agricultural landscape has become significantly more toxic to honeybees, say researchers.
