Agribusiness Update for Monday 7/15/13

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

USDA announced the designation of eight new bio-based product categories for preferred Federal procurement - furthering goals of last year’s presidential memo designed to increase rural job creation and increase the number of categories and products eligible for preferred purchasing.

Farm groups spent the weekend trying to figure out what the next step would be now that the House has passed the farm only farm bill. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack was against the idea but even more against the idea of simply extending the current bill for one more year.

Rising temperatures may increase risks for U.K. agricultural production as water supplies become more scarce in the next decade, according to an independent adviser to the government on climate change. The London-based Committee on Climate Change said the U.K. should improve irrigation efficiency and give farmers incentives to increase water-storage facilities in preparation for drier seasons.

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