7th Annual Ag Forum Highlights of 2011 – Looking toward 2012

In his state of agriculture address on Thursday at the 7th Annual Ag Development Forum, NC Ag Commissioner not only looked back at the year that was in 2011…which he’s termed as the ‘year that got away’ but to the future.  There are several issues that either directly involve agriculture, or impact agriculture, that the commissioner would like to see addressed.

One of the things that the Commissioner would like to see movement forward on is upgrading of the North Carolina Ports at Wilmington and Morehead City.  Troxler says that the loss of business out of NC ports:

"There's such a large percentage of agricultural products going out of other ports, especially Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia, that we raise in North Carolina, that I'm ashamed of it."

And in closing, the commissioner reiterated that in order for agriculture to survive and thrive, having discussions with the non-farming public is a must:

"I'm telling people no longer can you talk about agriculture, you've got to scream about agriculture if we're going to get it done."

The 7th Annual Ag Forum took place during the Southern Farm Show, which wraps up today at 4:00 pm at the state fair grounds in Raleigh.
 

DOL to Revisit Farm Labor Rule

The U.S. Department of Labor is going back to the drawing board on its controversial farm labor rule that would have prevented many young people from working on family farms. The department is stopping its plans to implement the new rules and has agreed to open a new dialogue with family farmers on the issue.
 

January Retail Sales a Mixed Bag

January was a mixed month for retailers, with some reporting strong gains while others said their sales were disappointing. But retail analyst Ken Perkins says…
 

Most MF Global Funds Found

Earlier this week we reported that it was a possibility that funds from bankrupt MF Global may never be found, well, the Associated Press has reported that unnamed investigators have located almost all of the 1.2-billion dollars first reported missing when the securities company went under last year. The money has been tracked to other customer accounts and banks. MF Global, headed by former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, failed in October, 2011, after a disastrous bet on European debt.
 

CBO Predicts Economic Malaise to Continue

Congressional Budget Office Dir. Doug Elmendorf says unless there is a change in the way Congress deals with the US economical doldrums, expect them to continue.
 

Fed Chairman Warns Congress to Step Lightly

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has urged Congress to avoid taking any fiscal steps that would disrupt the fragile economic recovery.
 

Young Kids and Pet Turtles Don’t Mix

The CDC warns against having pet turtles if you have young kids, or if people in your house have weakened immune systems. Veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Wright says there have been outbreaks of salmonella in connection with those reptiles.

RR2 Soybeans Doing Well
 

Market Probe, a third party market research firm, reports that 90 percent of farmers who grew Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans in 2011 said they were satisfied with the second-generation trait technology. They cited higher yields, excellent plant health and more beans per pod.
 

In comparison, based on 2011 harvest results, top-performing Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans achieved an average yield advantage of greater than 4 bushels per acre over soybean varieties with original Roundup Ready® technology.