**The American Farm Bureau has joined the Farmers for Free Trade campaign and wants other ag groups and communities to do the same.

Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall says the U.S. needs to look forward where trade is concerned and to talk about how important foreign trade is to our economies, our farmers and ranchers, and keeping rural America healthy.

Former Indiana U.S. Senator Dick Lugar tells Brownfield, Americans need to understand the importance of foreign ag trade, and extoll the virtues of pacts like NAFTA.

**Organic farming advocates, including the Organic Trade Association, organic grain distributors and university extension programs, are taking steps to reduce organic fraud, including new traceability methods, and create a more robust U.S. organic grain supply.

According to Agri-Pulse, during efforts to write the 2018 farm bill, experts say it’s important lawmakers continue to prioritize existing organic certification standards and practices while expanding others.

**U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley defended the biodiesel industry last week at Renewable Energy Group’s biodiesel plant in Newton, Iowa.

As reported in Agri-Pulse, Grassley says EPA chief Scott Pruitt knew the importance of biofuels and that it was a big issue during the Presidential election, but has failed to follow the president’s lead.

The EPA released a notice last month seeking input on a proposed cut to the 2018 volumes of biodiesel blended with the nation’s gas supply under the federal Renewable Fuels Standard by 315 million gallons.

 

More From 107.3 KFFM