More information is now available regarding China’s new foreign material (FM) standard for soybean imports from the U.S. (see Ag Perspectives, 22 December) as well as its implications. It is first important to note that China’s inspections agency (AQSIQ) and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) agreed to this change, set to go into effect on 1 January 2018. AQSIQ had apparently been complaining to APHIS since September about the high level of weed seed contamination in the U.S. soybean shipments. After discussions in early December, APHIS agreed to include notification on the phytosanitary certificate for shipments that contain more than 1 percent FM. In return, AQSIQ will allow shipments with 1 perce...
What You Need to Know Today: A third U.S. border crossing (Columbus, New Mexico) has reopened to Mexican cattle imports following nearly two years of restrictions related to New World screwworm. The reopening could gradually improve feeder cattle availability, although more than 60 confi...
Yesterday, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) released a new report of negotiated cash purchases of cattle under the mandatory price report. The report included Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. The goal of the report was to solve the confidentiality issues e...
Key Takeaways: U.S. soybean crushing began in 1911 and saw its most rapid expansion during the 1930s amid the broader agricultural and technology revolutions of the time. After peaking in the early 2000s, the soybean crushing industry went through a downturn as poor crush margins forced...
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