New advisory committee to boost southeastern agriculture competitiveness

May 31, 2024

By Farms.com

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) have appointed members to the newly established Seasonal and Perishable Agricultural Products Advisory Committee.

This committee aims to offer advice and recommendations to bolster the competitiveness of producers of seasonal and perishable agricultural products in the Southeastern United States.

Prompted by congressional requests following a Section 301 petition, the committee will focus on understanding and addressing market dynamics impacting producers in the region.

Committee members will bring expertise in various aspects of seasonal and perishable agriculture, contributing to efforts to support Southeastern producers.

The Administration's commitment to supporting specialty crop growers includes initiatives such as the USDA's Specialty Crops Competitiveness Initiative. This initiative aims to equip producers with tools and resources to enhance competitiveness in both domestic and international markets.

USTR and USDA will collaborate with the committee and congressional stakeholders to explore potential administrative actions and legislative measures that can benefit Southeastern producers.

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

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