An updated Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) was signed today by President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-In. The KORUS amendments include several revamped customs guidelines, provisions to prevent Korean discrimination against U.S. pharmaceutical exports, and a doubling of the amount of cars — from 25,000 to 50,000 — the U.S. can export to South Korea without being ... Read More »

Editorial from the Capital Press This week, reporters from the Capital Press tried to put a dollar figure to the impact of retaliatory tariffs placed on U.S. agriculture products to farmers and rancher in the West. It’s an elusive number, but it appears to be in the neighborhood of $4.1 billion over the next year. That’s a significant number in ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Washington grain elevators say they’re finding success blending wheat to make sure it meets the industry standard for the falling numbers test. HighLine Grain Growers is blending some carryover crop from 2017 to achieve the industry standard falling number score of 300, CEO Paul Katovich said. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From the Capital Press The wheels are beginning to turn on trade moves that will benefit U.S. farmers, but some major concerns remain, the head of an agricultural trade organization says. The Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing Sept. 13, focused on the Trump administration’s trade agenda. Brian Kuehl, executive director of Farmers For Free Trade, said he is cautiously ... Read More »

From NASS There were 6.8 days suitable for field work last week. Pasture and range conditions were reported at 25 percent very poor, 31 percent poor, 25 percent fair and 19 percent good. A low temperature of 34 degrees F was reported in the northeast and central regions, while a high temperature of 82 degrees F was reported in the ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Desperation in farm country due to low commodity prices and retaliatory tariffs by U.S. trade partners was the central theme of last week’s Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on trade. The committee questioned Ted McKinney, USDA undersecretary for trade, and Gregg Doud, chief agricultural negotiator, on what is being done to resolve trade disputes and forge new ... Read More »

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) appreciate the Senate Agriculture Committee holding a hearing on “Perspectives on U.S. Agricultural Trade” Sept. 13, 2018, focused on the Trump Administration’s trade agenda. The organizations are encouraged that Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow, as well as the members of the administration who testified today, recognize the ... Read More »

From the Spokesman-Review The crop that dominates Eastern Washington’s landscape has made most farmers happy this season, as wheat harvest numbers are coming in as much as 50 percent higher than average yields, officials said Wednesday. Scott Yates, the director of communications for the Washington Grain Commission, and Creston-area farmer Mike Carstensen both were featured speakers Wednesday at the Spokane ... Read More »

The National Wheat Foundation’s Wheat Industry Leaders of Tomorrow (WILOT) program will take place in St. Louis, Mo., from Nov. 11-16, 2018 and seeks applicants to participate. This week-long training program, sponsored by Monsanto, is geared towards current leaders and those who soon could take on leadership positions at the state and national levels for wheat organizations. The program will ... Read More »

From NASS There were 6.9 days suitable for field work last week. Pasture and range conditions were reported at 28 percent very poor, 34 percent poor, 19 percent fair, 18 percent good and 1 percent excellent. A low temperature of 38 degrees F was reported in the northeast and southeast regions, while a high temperature of 96 degrees F was ... Read More »