Farm News for Thursday Aug 18, 2016

Asian Trade Negotiations Taking Place Without the U.S.

Representatives from Australia, Singapore, and other countries in the Far East and Pacific Rim are in Vietnam this week, negotiating a trade agreement that could potentially take the place of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement would exclude the U.S. and include China, which is currently not included in the TPP agreement. Some of the member countries included in TPP discussions are pushing ahead with the alternative agreement as the fate of the TPP in America isn’t certain. Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today reports that some experts are hoping news of these negotiations will spur the TPP discussion forward. Beijing is a key driver in discussions on the RCEP agreement, which would include 16 nations and 3.4 billion people, if it’s ratified. If left out of the TPP, China would lose ground to manufacturing competitors like Vietnam, which would have greater duty-free access to the United States and other member nations.

Cancelling Atrazine Would Cost Farmers $2.5 Billion

The Environmental Protection Agency released its draft report on ecological risks of atrazine in June of this year as part of its re-registration process for the herbicide. If the assessment recommendations are allowed to stand, farmers would essentially lose access to atrazine, and that would cost farmers a lot of money. The National Corn Growers Association says the EPA report could cost the industry up to $2.5 billion in yield losses and increased production costs, all at a time when incomes are down sharply. A 2012 University of Chicago study showed that farming without atrazine would cost farmers an extra $59 per acre. That’s a large boost in costs when farm incomes have dropped 55 percent in the past two years. A jump in costs that high would not only affect producers but would have ramifications across the entire agribusiness industry. NCGA First Vice President Wesley Spurlock of Texas is urging farmers to contact the EPA and voice their concerns. Atrazine has been a mainstay of corn, sorghum, and sugar cane farmers for 50 years, and some of the toughest weeds are resistant to other herbicides but not to atrazine.

Source:  NAFB News