Ag News, Friday September 16, 2016

Trump Adviser Talks Agriculture

Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump’s senior adviser Sam Clovis spoke with reporters after an agriculture round-table discussion this week and said crop insurance needs to be protected as a “matter of national security.” He told reporters “You can pay for 100 percent of a natural disaster, or you can go out and pay 50 percent to either make sure it doesn’t happen or protect the people from it happening.” He thinks crop insurance would be an important part of any farm bill they would approach if Trump wins the election. Some conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation aren’t happy to hear that. Josh Sewell helped author the Heritage Foundation report calling for an end to crop insurance and commodity price supports. He said, “For someone who’s gained support running against Washington insiders, the ag interests are some of the most Washington insiders there are.” Regarding Trump’s hardline stance on immigration? Clovis said “Ag groups will have a seat at the table to help us go forward with these issues, but we will enforce the laws of this country.”

Beef Production Up Five Percent in 2016.

The beef cow herd and beef production continue to increase. Ag Web Dot Com said with three-quarters of 2016 done, beef production is up five percent over last year, and will continue to post monthly gains for the rest of this year and into 2017. Not only are the numbers of cattle growing, but they’re getting bigger as well. Weight data is showing steers are four pounds heavier than last year and heifers are eight pounds larger than a year ago. There’s no question an increase in beef production will weigh on market prices. The good news is beef exports continue to improve, with July exports up eight percent, and Sterling Marketing is forecasting an eight percent gain on the year. Another six percent gain in exports is in the forecast for 2017. This goes hand in hand with lower beef imports into the U.S. Imports should drop 13 percent this year and another 11 percent in 2017.

Source;  NAFB News