Perdue Advocates Public-Private Partnerships

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue expressed to a House appropriations subcommittee that one way to do more with less is through public-private partnerships:

“The way to accomplish more in tight budgetary times really is with public/private partnerships.  That’s one of the ways that we hope to do more with less.  The Forest Stewardship Program with private landowners is one of those.  I also come from a state where over 95% of them are privately managed, and our citizens have utilized those in what I think is a very wise way, and developed some best practices along with our state foresters, and our federal partners to do that.”

Smithfield to Expand Tar Heel Plant

Smithfield Foods says it will spend more than $45 million to expand blast cell cold storage capabilities at its pork plant in Tar Heel, N.C., according to local media The expansion will boost the plant’s capacity by 140 million pounds beginning in 2018. .

Hall to Vacate CEO Position at NC Soybean Producers

Jeff Jennings of Clayton, N.C. has been named CEO of the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association effective July 3.  Jennings will lead the association’s checkoff-funded soybean research and promotion programs as well as the advocacy and membership programs tied to improving farm profitability.  Jennings will replace CEO Charles Hall who is departing to relocate with his family to Germany.  Jennings previously worked in the marketing department of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.

NPPC White Paper Details Benefits Of NAFTA

New documents released by the National Pork Producers Council show the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement to the U.S., Canada and Mexico. NPPC released a white paper that focuses primarily on trade with Mexico and makes the case for not abandoning the 23-year-old pact. The paper also argues for not disrupting trade in sectors for which the agreement has worked well, including U.S. pork. Mexico is the number two export market for U.S. pork, and Canada is number four. For all U.S. goods and services, Canada and Mexico are the top two destinations, accounting for more than one-third of total U.S. exports, adding $80 billion to the U.S. economy and supporting more than 14 million American jobs.