Agribusiness Update for Tuesday 2/12/13

Agribusiness Update for Tuesday 2/12/13

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

As of February 11, 2013, Russia is prohibiting imports of all U.S. beef, pork, turkey and other meat products by requiring a zero tolerance for the presence of ractopamine. Ractopamine is a safe additive for animal feed that is used in 27 countries, and has been shown to be completely safe at levels established by the FDA and the United Nations. AgSecretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk expressed disappointment at the announcement.

Hispanic and women farmers and ranchers who allege discrimination by the USDA in past decades have until March 25th to file a claim. USDA urges potential claimants to contact the Claims Administrator for information. This process offers a voluntary alternative to litigation for those who can prove USDA denied his or her application for loan or loan servicing assistance for discriminatory reasons for certain time periods between 1981 and 2000.

Hard red winter wheat trade being handled on the Kansas City board will be moving to Chicago. The move will improve efficiency but should have little impact on the producer.

That’s today’s Agribusiness Update from the Ag Information Network. 

Previous ReportAgribusiness Update for Monday 2/11/13
Next ReportAgribusiness Update for Wednesday 2/13/13