Agribusiness Update for Friday 6/03/13

This is the Agribusiness Update...I’m Greg Martin...

National Homeownership Month was kicked off by the USDA which has helped rural residents purchase homes since 1949. Since the start of the Obama Administration, USDA Direct and Guaranteed home loan programs have helped more than 650,000 rural residents buy houses. USDA often works with partners like Habitat for Humanity.

Canadian and Mexican trade officials recently made threats of retaliatory action over the U.S. Country of Origin Labeling Law - which the U.S. Department of Agriculture published its final rule of last week to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling. The National Farmers Union sent a letter to Congressional leadership telling them to not let these threats bully them.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says skyrocketing consumer demand for local and regional food is an economic opportunity for America’s farmers and ranchers. Vilsack says food hubs facilitate access to these markets by offering critical aggregation, marketing, distribution and other services to farmers and ranchers. Food hubs keep more of the retail food dollar circulating in the local economy by serving as a link between the farm or ranch and regional buyers.

That’s today’s Agribusiness Update from the Ag Information Network.