While there was a lot of bombast about a recent trade agreement with the United Kingdom, it appears that there are more than a few loose ends. For example, the UK is standing firm that they’ll not accept hormone treated beef. The BBC quoted the country's chief secretary of the Treasury, Darren Jones, who stated that "The rules on food standards have not changed and they will not change as a result of the trade deal.” Apparently, this stance may be a stumbling block for converting the preliminary trade deal into a formal trade agreement. The London Times reported that border checks will ensure that hormone-treated beef remains banned. Food-safety researchers note that testing imported beef is expensive and complex, but the United Kingdom must protect its food standards as it negotiates trade deals.
Last week, Kentucky farmer Caleb Ragland testified before a U.S. Senate Finance Committee, warning senators that a prolonged trade war could lead to a farm crisis similar to the 1980s collapse. He pointed to 2018, when tariffs on soybeans reached over 30%, soybean exports were crippled, and that currently, the combined tariffs now impose a 34% duty, even after the rollback of tariffs that could have been as high as 155%. But he’s concerned, because U.S. soybeans still face a 10% baseline duty, coupled with a 10% retaliatory rate placed on them in March, along with other import duties that amount to 14%. At the same time, the European Union and Canada have threatened retaliatory tariffs on soybeans imports. Ragland contends that as a soybean customer, China is almost impossible to replace, because the country imports more soybeans than the rest of the world combined. The Chinese pork industry has the highest number of hogs in the world, and that industry’s appetite for soy protein is nearly unlimited. Ragland also notes that Chinese customers are vital to farmers who raise soybeans, while the U.S. can't replace them with other customers in the world.
While California didn’t have a referendum for wolf reintroduction, county Supervisors in Modoc, Plumas, Sierra and Shasta counties in northeastern California have recently passed resolutions declaring that gray wolves are a potential threat to humans, and are looking to get the state to remove problem packs. The Modoc County Board of Supervisors contend that a majority of livestock that has been killed in the last three months in northeast California have all occurred within 300 feet of family-occupied ranch homes. Ned Coe, rancher and chairman of the Modoc County Board of Supervisors cites instances where the wolves have been in people’s backyards, including walking through children’s sandboxes, and an elk was killed during the night by wolves literally on the doorstep of a home that had a family asleep in it. A recent study conducted by the University of California, Davis, found evidence of cattle depredation by wolves in northeastern California by analysis of wolf scat in the area.
Shades of the 1930s. Last week, a springtime dust storm hit Illinois last week. The National Weather Service issued a dust storm warning on May 16 for the Chicago metropolitan area for the first time ever, and the Chicago National Weather Service office reported that the last time such a warning was issued in Illinois was on May 10th, 1934.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently laid out the Trump administration's "Farmers First" policies” that intend to help small farmers using a set of policy initiatives. According to a 2023 Economic Research Service report, more than 1.6 million farmers fall into the category of small farmers, and they make up more than 86% of the country's farms. Those farms operate on 41% of the country's farm acreage and generate about 24% of the country's overall farm production. Rollins stated that she intends to support small family farms by ensuring simple streamlined and transparent tools and applications and providing reliable access to credit, "especially for new and beginning farmers, but also for multi-generational farmers." But the USDA recently put new requirements on Farm Service Agency direct and guaranteed loans during the past month that require additional layers of approval at the Secretary's office, with some larger loans needing to be approved by someone in the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency.
Basketball coach John Wooden wrote, “Today is the only day. Yesterday is gone.”
