Agribusiness Update for Monday 02/16/15

Six Senators have introduced the Freedom to Export to Cuba Act of 2015 - which would lift the trade embargo and boost U.S. ag exports to Cuba. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson says breaking down trade barriers is necessary to provide U.S. family farmers with increased market access and opportunities for trade in Cuba - a market of 11-million people close to American shores. He says financial restrictions currently in place prevent normal business relationships from developing between the U.S. and Cuba - but extending credit to Cuban buyers allows for the purchasing of American goods.

USDA has issued a report that shows the agency and its partners have worked with private landowners to restore 4.4-million acres of habitat for sage-grouse while maintaining working landscapes across the West through the Sage Grouse Initiative. In the past five-years - the NRCS has invested 296.5-million dollars to restore and conserve sage-grouse habitat and pledged to extend these efforts by nearly 200-million dollars over four-years through the 2014 Farm Bill.

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