Apple Tariff & Sugar Beet Trouble

Apple Tariff & Sugar Beet Trouble

Apple Tariff & Sugar Beet Trouble plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. In March of 2009 the U.S. government, at the insistence of the trucking industry abruptly stopped a cross-border trucking agreement with Mexico which promptly leveled a number of tariffs on U.S. products including a number of ag products. Now they have added a 20% tariff to apples as well. Washington Congressman Doc Hastings is not pleased with the way the Obama administration is handling the issue. HASTINGS: They did that at the behest of the Teamsters Union. Teamster bosses took credit for that. My frustration is in the last 16 months I have numerous calls, personal calls to Secretary Locke, Secretary LaHood and sent letters to Obama; never got a response by the way on that. My conclusion is after 16 months that this is nothing more than a political payback to the Teamsters Union or they would have got this thing resolved. Estimated economic impact of Mexico's tariff on apples from Washington State is $44 million/year. Idaho sugar beet growers say it will be difficult to find enough conventional seeds for their crops after a federal judge revoked government approval of genetically modified seeds. The judge recently ruled to halt the use of the genetically modified seeds until environmental impact study is completed. Many sugar beet farmers use the seeds developed by Monsanto Co. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. Looks like Kraft Foods is serious about improving the whole grain content in more than one hundred of their popular cracker products, a step they say will "contribute more than nine billion servings of whole grain to American diets" by the year 2013. That's definitely a significant number of whole grain servings. What does that spell for wheat growers? While Kraft representatives claim that it won't increase the quantity of wheat they purchase by any major measure, it will affect which variety of wheat growers may use. Wheat growers in the western half of the U.S. are in an especially good position due to the arid growing conditions and the areas higher resistance to seed-borne agents that cause disease, such as fungus or bacteria; a factor that makes it much easier to use the entirety of the wheat berry. Rather like some fruits and vegetables where a lot of the nutrients are in the outer peel, the bran, or outer skin of the wheat berry, has a major portion of the wheat berry's vitamins, fiber, and minerals. Whole wheat flour uses that bran. And as the majority of consumers have discovered, whole grain no longer means less taste. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.
Previous ReportUnemployment Rate Drops & Relating
Next ReportRecalling Eggs & Dairy Products & Pear Harvest Underway