Drought Tolerant Crops and USTR on Canada & USMCA
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.**In a development that could improve the drought tolerance of crops, University of California scientists say they’ve identified genes that protect plants from drying out.
Working with tomato plants, the UC researchers studied genes that regulate a moisture-barrier layer in plant roots that prevents the plant from losing water.
The scientists say the new knowledge may help them breed crops that survive longer during drought.
**The U.S. Trade Representative made a request Tuesday to initiate a dispute settlement under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to challenge Canada’s allocation of dairy tariff-rate quotas, or TRQs.
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says this is an important step for American ag, and one that brings the U.S. dairy sector closer to realizing the full benefits of the USMCA.
He says Ambassador Tai's action will help ensure Canada upholds its USMCA commitments and lets our other agricultural trading partners know they must play by the rules.
**U.S. organic sales in 2020 jumped 12.4%, reaching $61.9 billion, according to a new Organic Trade Association survey.
www.thepacker.com reports, the 2020 growth rate was more than twice the 2019 pace of 5%.
U.S. organic FOOD sales in 2020 surged 12.8% to reach a new high of $56.4 billion. In 2020, almost 6% of the food sold in the U.S was certified organic.
www.thepacker.com/news/organic/2020-sees-record-organic-sales-ota-reports?mkt