Ag News: EU Approves U.S. Beef and E. coli Rocks Lettuce Growers
**The European Parliament voted on November 28th to approve a plan, that was announced and signed in August, granting the U.S. a country-specific share of the European Union’s duty-free high-quality beef quota.
U.S. Meat Export Federation President Dan Halstrom says lack of capacity in the duty-free quota has hampered the ability of European importers to consistently secure U.S. beef for their customers.
Approval by the European Parliament keeps the agreement on track for implementation in early 2020.
**With yet another E. coli outbreak linked to romaine rocking the produce industry, groups representing leafy greens growers say they’re "devastated" and the situation is "unacceptable."
California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement CEO Scott Horsfall tells thepacker.com, the outbreak is “being met with frustration and heartbreak by California lettuce farmers.”
The cause of repeated E. coli outbreaks linked to romaine or leafy greens remains a mystery despite an intense focus by industry and federal regulators.
**If soybean farmers were hoping for a market-run fueled by poor weather in South America, some meteorologists say that may not be in the cards this winter.
Drew Lerner, of World Weather, Inc., tells agweb.com, weather in Brazil and Argentina appears to be turning around and looks pretty normal.
Lerner says last year’s dryness in South America caused a weather scare that boosted commodity prices, but he’s not expecting that scenario this year.
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