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Archive for Category: "Editorials"
An Open Letter to Oprah: Come to My Farm and See Why Biotech Crops Make Sense
Dear Oprah, Come to my farm. Visit the land that I’ve worked since I was a boy. See this place so that you’ll never again let bad articles on agriculture tarnish the pages of your magazine or the pixels on your website. If you accept this invitation to have a firsthand look at how an [...]
Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement Talks at Critical Stage
The 12th round of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Free Trade Agreement began on May 8th in Dallas, Texas. The goal is to have an agreement by the end of the calendar year, but policy differences still exist and more countries seek to join the negotiations. Nine countries are now part of the talks: [...]
Enjoying US Beef with Confidence
Reports last week that a California dairy cow tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)–popularly known as “mad cow disease”—has raised concerns by some about our food supply and trade relations. What I see is the amazing success of our regulatory system, which is working exactly as it should. Consumers can enjoy U.S. beef without [...]
Harmonizing Regulations for Increased International Trade
The Obama Administration received little media attention when it released an Executive Order on Promoting International Regulatory Cooperation in trade. It is an extension of the January 2011 Executive Order on Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review that focused on domestic issues. President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competiveness, chaired by GE Chairman Jeffery Immelt, is [...]
Keeping the Sweet Corn Sweet
Who loves sweet corn as much as we do? Bugs! Just about everyone knows the frustration of driving to the grocery store or your local market, locating the bins of freshly-picked sweet corn, and shucking a few husks to check for quality. Then you see it, usually near the top of the cob: A tiny [...]
Integrating China Into the Global Corn Market
Chinese grain companies have purchased over 4.0 million metric tons (MMT) of corn from the U.S. this marketing year (September 1, 2011 to August 31, 2012) and the U.S. corn industry is expecting more activity yet this year and for the 2012/13 year starting on September 1, 2012. This comes after a record large harvest [...]
Vermont’s REAL Food Safety Issue
The “heads” side of every quarter pictures a famous farmer: George Washington. Among the 50 states represented on the “tails” side, however, only Vermont shows a farmer: He’s tapping maple trees for syrup. So it would be a special shame if Vermont’s legislators were to pass a bill that would hurt farmers not just in [...]
CAFTA-DR Revisited
With the announcement that the U.S.-Columbia Free Trade Agreement will be implemented beginning May 15, it is an appropriate time to review the market changes for the U.S.-Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement countries which have similar market issues. The agreement is between the U.S. and El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the [...]
Rebuild the African Breadbasket with the Power of Fertilizer and Promise of Biotechnology
Africa’s farmers must do better. The population of our continent continues to grow, but our ability to produce food remains stuck in the past. Experts say that global food production has to double by 2050 in order to meet demand–yet here in Africa, the average yield of grain crops hasn’t increased since the 1960s. There’s [...]
Carryover Stocks Key to Understanding the World Cotton Market
India shook the global cotton trade in early March by suddenly shutting off additional registrations of cotton for exports and indicating that some cotton already registered may not be shipped. The latest supply, demand, exports and stocks estimates by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of USDA provides a clearer picture of conditions, but shows again [...]
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