POLICY WATCH
USMCA Effective July 1
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) will go into effect July 1, according to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The July 1 date represents a one-month delay from the original timeline, following the signing of the agreement by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The agreement contains significant improvements and modernized approaches to rules of origin, agricultural market access, intellectual property, digital trade, financial services, labor, and numerous other sectors. The trade agreement ensures most agriculture tariffs will remain at zero and expands dairy market access to Canada for the U.S., among other benefits.
PLC 2019 Program of Choice
The American Farm Bureau has released a review comparing participation in the 2019 Agriculture Risk Coverage-County Option (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. According to the review, PLC proved to be the program of choice for commodities in 2019.
Meat Processing Capacity Off 20-30 Percent
Cattle slaughter has declined by 32 percent from its March high. Hog slaughter has declined by 30 percent from its March high and processing declined to just under two million head of pigs in the most recent week. AFBF economist Michael Nepveux shares more about challenges as plants come on and go offline nationally.
