Ag Tourism Grows and China Trade Deal Delay
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.**Agricultural tourism continues to grow, according to the latest U.S. Census of Agriculture.
Figures show agritourism revenues more than tripled between 2002 and 2017.
A government study says commodities such as grapes, fruit and nut trees, and specialty livestock had a positive impact on tourism revenues.
The report says agritourism could offer a strategy that helps small and mid-sized farms in particular to bring in additional revenue.
**USDA is providing financing through the Electric Loan Program that will help build and improve nearly 69-hundred miles of line to strengthen reliability in rural areas.
The loans include $255.8 million for investments in smart grid infrastructure that uses digital communications technology to detect and react to local changes in electricity usage.
Among the 21 states impacted by the funding, Oregon is the only one on the West Coast. USDA will make additional funding announcements in coming weeks.
**President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping may not be able to sign a partial trade deal until December.
Farmprogress.com reports, the two sides have been trying to negotiate a limited trade deal that would entail the U.S. dropping some tariffs on Chinese imports in exchange for Beijing resuming purchases of American farm goods and other products.
Sources says some U.S. locations for a meeting have been ruled out, while venues in Asia and Europe are now being considered.
https://www.farmprogress.com/trade/trump-xi-jinping-may-not-sign-trade-deal-until-december