California Alfalfa Supplies Rebound and Organic Production on Large Farms
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**Thanks to more rain this year, supplies of alfalfa hay and other forages in California have rebounded, with prices falling after climbing to record-high levels last year.
Hay growers say dairy and livestock producers aren’t buying as much hay as pastures are still flushed with grass for grazing and the price of feeds have dropped.
The recent hay shortage forced dairy farmers and livestock ranchers to look for supplies far away, driving up hauling costs.
**Organic production becomes more concentrated on larger farms when consumer demand for organic increases.
www.agrimarketing.com reports, that’s according to a new article published in the Journal of the Agricultural & Applied Economics.
The Washington State University authors say organic farms have the highest exit rates in the first couple years after becoming certified.
They also found large organic farms are more sensitive to organic market conditions than smaller farms.
www.agrimarketing.com/s/145831
**The USDA and the FDA would become members of a powerful U.S. committee that rules on national security implications of foreign ownership of U.S. assets under a new bipartisan Senate bill.
Sponsors, Senate Ag Chair, Debbie Stabenow, and Senator Joni Ernst tell www.agriculture.com, their bill would strengthen U.S. oversight of foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land.
Two House committees voted to block or heavily tax farmland purchases by foreign adversaries.
www.agriculture.com/news/business/tougher-scrutiny-of-land-purchases-by-foreigners-proposed
