Ag Headlines for Friday, August 21, 2015

USDA Report Show Increasing Internet Access on U.S. Farms

A report released this week by USDA shows 70 percent of U.S. farms and ranches now have access to internet. The Computer Usage and Ownership report by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service shows a three percent increase in internet access since 2013. DSL remained the most popular method for accessing internet, accounting for 30 percent of all farms and ranches with internet access. Wireless connection, which accounts for 29 percent, and satellite connection, which accounts for 21 percent of the U.S. total, showed significant growth in the past two years.

According to the report, 43 percent of U.S. farms use computers for their business operations. Farmers in the Western states are most likely to use computers for business. In that region, 48 percent of all farms use computers for that purpose. Western region was closely followed by the North Central and Northeast states, where 46 and 45 of all farms followed this practice. Southern states have the lowest percentage in this category. In that region 36 percent of all farms use internet to conduct business.

National farmers Union Calls for Currency Manipulation language in TPP

The National Farmers Union wants the Trans-Pacific Partnership to include strong language against currency manipulation. NFU President Roger Johnson said Thursday that currency manipulation was used recently by two countries engaged in the TPP talks. Vietnam and China have both devalued currency in the last two weeks. Vietnam is a planned signatory onto the TPP, and will benefit from the elimination of trade barriers by many countries – like the U.S. – where it hopes to gain market share China is not involved in the ongoing TPP talks, but could be included once a deal is complete. Johnson pointed out that currency manipulation is the most significant contributor to the U.S. trade deficit, which exceeded $505 billion in 2014. He says if the TPP is signed without provisions against currency manipulation, that deficit will continue to grow.

NAFB News