California Pear Harvest Begins and Crop Acreage Reporting Goes Digital
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**This year’s first U.S.-grown pears are shipping to retailers and canneries as the season kicks off in California.
After a historic spring heat wave, the crop matured faster than usual.
Growers along the Sacramento River started picking Bartletts, the state’s top variety, on June 29, about two weeks earlier than average.
California pear growers aim to sell most of their crop before September, when they lose market share to Pacific Northwest pears.
**USDA is launching a pilot program designed to modernize crop acreage reporting by replacing paper maps with an electronic reporting system.
The Farm Service Agency says this is part of the administration's "One Farmer, One File" effort to create a more efficient and consistent reporting process for both producers and county offices.
The pilot will be implemented in selected counties across 11 states ahead of the July 15 acreage reporting deadline.
**As you’ve probably heard, the Trump administration declined to extend the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
This starts a 10-year clock to wind down the trade deal as the U.S. seeks changes to reshore manufacturing jobs and reduce U.S. trade deficits with its North American neighbors.
The decision keeps the agreement in place for another ten years, with annual reviews before it expires, unless the three countries agree to renew it with changes.
