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Net farm income forecast to decline, USDA's report was good news for wheat and executive orders impact agriculture.

Janet Kubat Willette 1, E-Content Editor

February 11, 2017

2 Min Read

1. U.S. net farm income is forecast to decline by 8.7% in 2017 to the lowest level since 2002, when adjusted for inflation. The decline is largely due to how USDA calculates farm income. Cash receipts are forecast to remain largely unchanged. – Farm Futures

2. A Wall Street Journal article about the struggling farm economy features a fifth-generation western Kansas farm family. The farm family talks about the challenges of earning a living with the slump in wheat and other commodity prices. - High Plains Public Radio

3. The Trump administration has halted implementation of the organic livestock and poultry production requirements for 60 days as part of an executive order signed Jan. 20, 2017. The final rule was announced before the Obama left office. Likewise, the Farmer Fair Practice rules have been delayed and the comment period extended on the Unfair Practices and Undue Preferences in Violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act and the Poultry Grower Ranking Systems – Farm Futures

4. Consumer electronics brand Panasonic started growing leafy greens inside a warehouse in Singapore in 2014. The farm's square footage and output have more than quadrupled since them, with greens grown all year. There are 40 types of crops grown in the warehouse. – Business Insider

5. Thursday's USDA report was good news for wheat, with the three U.S. futures markets moving higher after USDA made a larger-than-expected reduction in end-of-year-stocks. – Farm Futures

6. A shortage of labor caused Christopher Ranch, the biggest fresh garlic producer in the nation, to raise wages for farmworkers to $13 an hour from $11 an hour. The wage boost worked. Last year, the farm was short 50 workers. This year, it has a waiting list of 150. – Los Angeles Times

7. USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has removed documents from its website pertaining to the Horse Protection Act and Animal Welfare Act. The Humane Society of the United States has pledged legal action. – Farm Futures 

A feel-good story about aging is our bonus for the week:
Ferol Cosper, 100, is an icon at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. She has worked at the museum for 40 years. She has interacted with close to a million visitors at the museum in those decades. – The Tifton Gazette

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