Ag News: Canada/Mexico Committed to NAFTA
**Mexico and Canada’s top Ag officials say their countries remain committed to completing the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations, no matter how long it takes.
Kenneth Smith, who heads the Mexican Ministry’s NAFTA negotiations, and Canadian Ag Minister Lawrence MacAulay addressed the 22nd World Meat Congress in Dallas.
Smith tells the U.S. Meat Export Federation negotiations that started in August have made progress, with proposals for the tougher issues currently on the table.
**Senators in top dairy states are pushing hard to enforce the “Dairy Pride Act,” which aims to label non-dairy products as “nut juice” or “imitation dairy products” … and PETA is pushing back.
Agweb.com reports PETA plans to launch the “De-Calf Your Coffee. Dairy is Udder Cruelty.” Campaign that encourages using Almond, Soy or Coconut Milk.
The PETA promotion is timed to coincide with June’s National Dairy Month, but may extend beyond depending on the success of the Dairy Pride Act.
**Senate Ag Chair Pat Roberts rejected proposed farm bill reforms that make the Agriculture Risk Coverage program more attractive and increase payments to farmers in the upper Midwest at the expense of producers in other regions.
According to Agri-Pulse, Roberts says it’s important not to help one region of the country “at the expense of another. We either hang together or hang separately.”
Roberts says his draft would provide some improvements to ARC that won’t harm other regions.