Saudi Arabia Reopens TO US Beef; Cargill to Sell Ag-Retail Division

Tuesday Saudi Arabia reopened it’s market to U.S. beef giving producers and exports access to Saudi consumers after four years of being shut out of this market. They have been closed to US beef shipments since 2012 when an “atypical” case of mad cow diseases was detected according to the USDA.

WCAX.com reports: Bernie Sanders was in the crowd celebrating that Vermont's first-in-the-nation GMO labeling law took effect Friday.

" The celebration came as retailers across Vermont got word manufacturers would stop sending 3,000 products to the state. According to WCAX.com. Many popular brands from every corner of the grocery store will no longer send certain items, ranging from Pepsi Wild Cherry to whole wheat hot dog buns. You now have less choice for consumers," said Robert Letovsky, a professor of business at St. Michael's College. "Less choice means less competition, inevitably prices are going to rise." The compromise GMO bill offered in Congress does not require a label, but would allow customers to use a QR code or phone a call center to get more information. Vermont retailers have one year to sell their current inventory that does not have a label.

From Reuters, on Wednesday, U.S. grain trader Cargill Inc has agreed to sell its ag-retail business in the United States to farming input seller and distributor Agrium Inc, the companies said on Wednesday. Calgary-based Agrium, North America's largest retail seller of crop inputs like seed, fertilizer, and pesticides, will acquire 18 ag-retail locations in Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. The businesses have annual revenues exceeding $150 million.

Also from Reuters - Prison Time for Egg Execs. A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a bid by two former Iowa egg industry executives to throw out their three-month prison sentences after their company Quality Egg LLC caused a nationwide salmonella outbreak in 2010. By a 2-1 vote, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St.Paul, Minnesota said prison time was appropriate for Austin"Jack" DeCoster and his son Peter for negligently failing to prevent the outbreak, which sickened thousands.Finally, Krogers will team up with The Produce Mom for a marketing campaign that begins July 10.