Ag News: Farm Loss Lower and Subsidized Brazilian Beef to U.S.
**The U.S. lost 58-hundred farms in 2019 versus 2018, but, according to USDA, that’s the smallest decline in recent years.
Agweb.com reports, since 2012, the average year-over-year decline was around 12,000 farms, with the biggest drop from 2014 to 2015.
In 2019 the total number of farms in the U.S. totals 2,023,400.
This slight year-over-year drop is on par with recent years and a sign farmland isn’t vanishing as quickly as some think.
**The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service recently reported the government of Brazil subsidizes Brazilian cattle production to the tune of about $1.2 billion U.S. dollars.
But, last week the USDA announced it’s opening the U.S. market to imports of fresh Brazilian beef and that’s not sitting well with cattlemen.
R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard says that will pit America's cattle families against Brazil's $1.2 billion in subsidies, meaning the U.S. will compete against the Brazilian treasury.
Income paid to America's cow/calf producers was slashed nearly 20 percent last year.
**A reduced snowpack leads to cautious water allocations for San Joaquin Valley farmers.
The federal Central Valley Project says it expects to provide agricultural water contractors south of the delta with 15% supplies.
The CVP says the allocation would have been less had it not been for new operations plans signed recently. Farm water contractors north of the delta received a 50% allocation.
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