EU Stiffens Food Import Standards and California Wine Grapes Update

EU Stiffens Food Import Standards and California Wine Grapes Update

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.

**Cattle organizations from around the country sent letters to Senate Ag Committee chair Pat Roberts, and Congressman Collin Peterson, chair of the House Ag Committee, pushing for support of S. 4647 and H.R. 8557, the proposed Cattle Market Transparency Act of 2020.

The letter says both measures represent a balanced approach between providing key information and transparency for cattle producers while maintaining confidentiality for the packing sector.

The groups are calling for a full and fair consideration and a hearing on the first appropriate date possible.

**The European Union is moving to raise environmental and food safety standards for agriculture under its “Farm to Fork” strategy, which would eventually apply to food imports, too.

Mercatus Center economist Christine McDaniel says if the EU goes down this road in a WTO-consistent way, it will be up to America’s farmers and food processors to figure out how to meet European consumer demands within the guardrails of Farm to Fork.

**About one-quarter of the winegrapes in Sonoma County will go unpicked this year, according to an estimate released last week.

The Sonoma County Winegrowers organization says wildfires and pandemic-related economic troubles led to the losses, which could total over $150 million.

More than 70% of farmers surveyed say at least some of

their grapes will go unpicked or be rejected by wineries due to wildfires or related smoke.

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