Ag News: U.S. Trailing in Bilateral Trade Agreements
**The U.S. is falling behind dairy competitors in both the European Union and New Zealand in enacting new, bilateral trade agreements.
Peter Vitaliano, chief economist for the National Milk Producers Federation, tells milkbusiness.com, our competitors are going gang busters with bilateral agreements and are so far ahead of us that the best we can do is get back to a level playing field.
U.S. exports HAD BEEN trending well for a few months prior to commodity price increases this spring.
**U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered another large stash of suspected cocaine in a shipment of produce crossing into the U.S. in Pharr, Texas, two days after a $4 million seizure there.
The tractor trailer hauling fresh produce from Mexico arrived at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge last Thursday.
The inspection uncovered 50 packages weighing a total of almost 125 pounds with a street value of nearly $1-million.
**As Sacramento Valley farmers look for alternative crops, more have been planting one that has long thrived in the southern San Joaquin Valley: pistachios.
Demand for the crop, combined with the soil and water in the region and the development of new varieties, make pistachios attractive for farmers north of Sacramento.
Small acreages of pistachios have grown in the area for many years, but the crop is now a top-10 crop in Yolo County.
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