Northwest Iowa — It seems like we’ve had extra moisture around here for a while now. Last spring, the wet planting season meant crops went in the ground late. This fall, those late crops also needed to be harvested late. Is this a cycle that we’ll be stuck in for a while? An expert says the possibility is there. Read more
U.S./China Reach Phase One Deal
IABRN — American and Chinese officials today (Friday) confirmed the first phase of a trade agreement.
President Donald Trump stated, “We have agreed to a very large phase one deal with China. They (China) have agreed to many structural changes and massive purchases of agricultural products, energy and manufactured goods, plus more.”
In terms of agriculture, the President believes, “Farmers are going to have to buy much larger tractors because it means a lot of business.” Administration officials expect China to purchase between $40 to $50 billion of United States agricultural products.
“The numbers they have talked about committing to, $40 to $50 billion, would be double what they have imported before. If we can get those kinds of numbers, commitments, then there’s going to be a real bonanza for agriculture going forward,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said.
Today’s announcement comes just days before an additional round of tariffs was to be imposed. United States officials cancelled plans to impose tariffs on $156 billion of Chinese goods and announced their intentions to reduce tariffs on roughly $120 billion of Chinese goods from 15-percent to seven-point-five-percent. A 25-percent tariff rate will remain on roughly $250 billion of Chinese goods.
Phase two negotiations will begin immediately, according to President Trump.
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IABRN — It is the news we have been waiting for over a year and a half. A negotiated partial trade deal has been reached between the United States and China. President Trump has been briefed on the deal and has given his approval.
The particulars of the agreement are still coming in at this point. Bloomberg News earlier reported that negotiators from the United States offered to reduce tariffs on roughly $375 billion dollars’ worth of Chinese goods by 50%. They also would suspend the new tariffs on $160 billion in Chinese goods expected to go into effect on Sunday, December 15th. Reports state the Chinese agreed to buy more U.S. Ag products. Amounts are not yet known.
However, the only thing we can confirm as of Thursday afternoon is that the new tariffs are not going to happen.
Back in October we first heard of this deal. President Trump was pushing China to make $50 billion in agricultural products. The Chinese had been reluctant to agree to that. Sources say that the only reason the deal wasn’t done in October is that the Chinese never officially signed off on it. That is why we have been in this boat for the past couple of months.
We will have more on this as it develops in the coming days.
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IABRN — United States lawmakers this week pushed forward the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. It was announced today that the United States may have made progress on yet another trade front. Read more
Young Farmers Have Opportunities If they think outside the box
IABRN — Just like with any industry, agriculture is always looking to the future. If the industry is to survive, we need to get new blood into the system. However, new farmers are finding more and more challenges to doing just that. The economy makes it hard to sometimes get financing and grant programs only go so far. Also, there isn’t a lot of land available for them to get a start.
Bankers Seem More Positive On Ag Economy
Statewide Iowa — (IARN) — I feel like a broken record when I start out by saying the “2019 has put a lot of stress on the agriculture industry.” There is no way around it, it is just the fact that we have to face. Read more
Annual Iowa Crop Progress Report
Staetwide, Iowa — Iowa saw a historically wet spring with rain and snow through the first half of April delaying fieldwork and planting activities. Read more
Sheldon Sale Barn Receives Award
Sheldon, Iowa — Sheldon Livestock Sales, Inc. was recognized and awarded at the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association’s Leadership Summit held earlier this month. Read more