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NPPC Hails Trump U.K. Trade Announcement

The Trump administration over the weekend announced it would pursue closer trade relations with the United Kingdom, news welcomed by the National Pork Producers Council, which urged the administration to begin talks as soon as possible.

Meeting last week at the White House, President Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May agreed to hold preliminary talks on a trade deal, which can’t be finalized until the U.K. leaves the European Union. (The U.K. in June 2016 voted to get out of the economic bloc, which was formed after World War II to promote economic growth and to avoid conflict among the 28 member countries.)

“We applaud the Trump administration for recognizing the importance of free trade agreements to American agriculture and the entire U.S. economy,” said NPPC President John Weber, a pork producer from Dysart, Iowa. “We’re pleased that it will work for a stronger trade relationship with the United Kingdom through a mutually beneficial trade agreement.”

Trump and May agreed to set up a working groups to consider ways to improve trade between the countries before the United Kingdom, which consists of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, exits the EU. The so-called Brexit process may take up to two years.

At a Friday press conference with the president, May said the countries will work to “lay the groundwork for a U.K.-U.S. trade agreement and identify the practical steps we can take now in order to enable companies in both countries to trade and do business with one another more easily.”

Given its desire to negotiate a free trade agreement with the U.K., it is unclear if the Trump administration will continue trade talks with the EU through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Those negotiations have been limping along nearly since the TTIP was initiated in 2013.

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Back On The Fields | Cutting Alfalfa Hay| Crop Talk

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We are cutting our second-cut alfalfa hay! Our machinery hasn't been repaired, but the weather is clear, so we take our opportunity to get back on the fields making hay. The alfalfa crop was ready to harvest, and any delays would result in poor quality feed for our sheep, so we decided to go ahead and get that mower rolling. We have a little crop talk about how we cut the hay with our John Deere hydrostatic mower, how we lay the hay out flat in rows to help it dry quicker, and how the two different plantings in that hay field have developed at varying rates and densities. We discuss the quality of the alfalfa hay and show how differing percentages of grasses mixed in with the alfalfa make a difference in the volume of the hay harvested. Hay is the primary feed source on our sheep farm. Getting it done just right is imperative for sheep farming, sheep health, and sheep care. Quality feed sets the stage for producing productive and profitable sheep and allows for feeding throughout the winter season when pasture grazing is no longer an option for those farmers raising sheep in cold climates such as Canada. While in the hay field, we also have a look at the adjacent corn crop and marvel at how well it has developed in such a short period of time.