Ag News: Wildfires Hit Avocados-Lemons

**Nearly 200 acres of avocados and lemons have been damaged or destroyed in Ventura County, California, during recent wildfires.

The county agricultural commissioner's office says it hasn't yet had a chance to assess all the farming areas affected by the fires.

In Sonoma County, farmers and ranchers say the Kincade Fire destroyed pastures, barns and winery facilities. The fire also hit grapevines, which often acted as firebreaks.

**The Ag Economy Barometer improved to a reading of 136 in October, up 15 points from September, which pushed the barometer back to the same level observed in October 2018.

This month's upswing in the ag economy sentiment index was driven by an improvement in ag producers' assessments of both current and future economic conditions in agriculture.

The Index of Current Conditions rose from 100 in September to 115 in October and the Index of Futures Expectations also rose 15 points to a reading of 146.

**Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadian Beef and Pork exports to China will resume, ending a nearly four-month long trade dispute with Beijing.

According to agweb.com, Canada will resume shipments of beef and pork to China, signaling the Asian nation has lifted an import ban imposed earlier this year. China suspended all Canadian meat shipments on June 25th after discovering a forged certificate on pork cargo which the Canadian Food Inspection Agency later confirmed was fake.