Agribusiness Update for Monday 01/19/15

Agribusiness Update for Monday 01/19/15

This is the Agribusiness Update...I'm Greg Martin...

The Treasury and Commerce Departments published regulations to ease restrictions on U.S. ag sales to Cuba. The overall embargo is still in effect but White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest says the regulatory amendments are part of a process to normalize relations with Cuba. Meanwhile - House Ag Ranking Member Collin Peterson co-sponsored legislation introduced in the House on Thursday. Peterson says the Free Trade with Cuba Act would significantly open the Cuban market for U.S. farmers and ranchers who have struggled to get their products to Cuba due to the cash in advance requirement and prohibition of direct transactions.

According to both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA, 2014 was the hottest year on record. Although the U.S. saw the eastern half cooler than normal while the west was considerably warmer. One researcher noted that all this happened in a year when an El Niño did not figure into the weather. Nine of the 10 hottest years in NOAA global records have occurred since 2000. Overall the average temperature in 2014 was only about 1.25 degrees above normal.

That's today's Agribusiness Update from the Ag Information Network of the West.

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