Ag News: More Bees for Almonds and Farmer Optimism Higher
**As more almond orchards come into production, beekeepers are racing to keep pace.
More than 2.5 million beehives will be moved into California orchards over the next few weeks in preparation for bloom season.
With 300,000-plus acres of almonds expected to begin producing nuts over the next few years, beekeepers say an additional 600,000 new hives will be needed to ensure the young trees are pollinated.
**The National Pork Producers Council applauds the EPA’s move to replace what they call the unlawful Waters of the U.S. rule WITH the Navigable Waters Protection Rule.
The NPPC says the new rule gives farmers greater certainty, while protecting water quality and the environment as it’s fully consistent with the Clean Water Act and recent Supreme Court decisions.
The WOTUS rule issued by the Obama administration in 2015 gave EPA broad jurisdiction over waters adjacent, upstream and intermittent, and farm lands adjacent to waters.
**A long, drawn-out crop year and ongoing trade battles didn't dampen farmers' moods, as they ended 2019 with new optimism and solid in their support for the Trump administration.
According to agrimarketing.com, the DTN/Progressive Farmer Agriculture Confidence Index rose to 164.1 in December, significantly higher than the 110.2 in March or the 109.2 a year earlier.
75% of the farmers surveyed said if the election was today, they’d vote for Trump, while about a quarter would not.
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