AFBF s Duvall Disappointed in ITC Ruling and Corn Acreage Climbs
Wednesday Feb 17th, 2021 From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall is disappointed by the International Trade Commissions ruling on blueberry imports.
Duvall says the ITC failed to recognize the damage certain imports are doing.
He says these farmers face unfair competition from foreign growers and the decision demonstrates much work is still needed to address international trade imbalances.
Duvall says they’ll continue working with USDA, USTR and the Department of Commerce to find meaningful assistance for our domestic blueberry industry.
Duvall says the ITC failed to recognize the damage certain imports are doing.
He says these farmers face unfair competition from foreign growers and the decision demonstrates much work is still needed to address international trade imbalances.
Duvall says they’ll continue working with USDA, USTR and the Department of Commerce to find meaningful assistance for our domestic blueberry industry. According to a new Farm Futures survey, U.S. corn producers say they’ll increase corn acreage 4.1% from year prior, to 94.7 million acres in 2021.
If realized, according to www.agrimarketing.com, 2021 corn acreage will be the third largest in the past 75 years, trailing only 2012 and 2013.
UC Davis releases two new strawberry varieties
Red, ripe strawberries are the hallmark of spring in California. Two new varieties from the Public Strawberry Breeding Program at the University of California, Davis, will provide consumers with big, flavorful strawberries throughout fall and winter, too.
“These cultivars were developed to provide high-quality fruit from late summer through the holidays,” said Professor Steve Knapp, director of the UC Davis Strawberry Breeding Program.
The new varieties UCD Finn and UCD Mojo are “extreme day neutral,” which means they were bred for summer planting, especially in coastal climates from Santa Maria south. They were developed to replace Portola, the only other UC variety that is planted in the summer and harvested in the fall and winter. Portola is popular with farmers for its high yield, but some consumers say the variety lacks flavor.