Ag News: U.S.-China Trade Relations
**Most farmers responding to a California Farm Bureau survey reported they’d lost sales or customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the voluntary survey, 57% said they’d seen sales drop, mainly due to stay-at-home orders that reduced restaurant demand.
Another 42% of respondents said they or a family member had seen their off-farm income decline.
**What’s the future of the U.S. trading relationship with China?
Produce Marketing Association vice president, Richard Owen tells thepacker.com, the relationship is not stable despite the Phase 1 trade agreement signed earlier this year.
Owen believes recent criticism from President Trump over China’s failure to buy enough U.S. ag products, and its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic is politically driven in this election year.
But Owen says China will be hard-pressed to meet its $19.5-billion obligation given the fact their economy was shut down for six to eight weeks.
**The USDA Risk Management Agency is allowing organic and transitional farmers to report their acreage differently, citing stay-at-home and social distancing orders.
Agweb.com reports, instead of in-person crop insurance conversations, producers can report acreage for the 2020 crop year if they’ve requested written certification from a certifying agent by their acreage reporting date.
RMA administrator Martin Barbre says as the pandemic continues, RMA is also continuing to add more flexibilities to assist America’s farmers and ranchers.
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