California Citrus Greening Research and Census of Ag Collects Hemp Data

California Citrus Greening Research and Census of Ag Collects Hemp Data

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

**Researchers are combing commercial citrus sites in Southern California to determine whether Asian citrus psyllids are spreading “citrus greening” disease.

The insect vectors are known to carry the bacterium that can cause the virus known as HLB.

So far, researchers have tested more than 3,000 of the insects collected from 15 commercial citrus sites and just over 3.5% had some level of bacterium.

So far, California has not had widespread infections in citrus like Florida and Texas.

**The Upper House of Japan’s government, called the Diet, approved the Protocol Amending the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement regarding the beef safeguard mechanism.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office says that completes the Diet’s process of finalizing the agreement.

The new three-trigger safeguard mechanism will allow U.S. exporters to meet Japan’s growing demand for high-quality beef and reduce the probability that Japan will impose higher tariffs in the future.

**For the first time, the USDA will collect data on farmers growing hemp and using precision technology in the 2022 Census of Agriculture.

The agency began regulating hemp production in 2021, and this will be the first census to publish data on those producers.

The agency says it will also identify farmers using “precision agriculture” data-collection technology that guides planting decisions.

Farmers are required by law to fill out the survey, but NASS has no enforcement mechanism.

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