News items related to ag tech, biotech, trade ? and perhaps some other interesting topics out there related to agriculture ? will be posted on this page throughout the week (as the week progresses newest items will be in?green?at bottom of sections). Check the page during the week for updates. ____

TRADE, TRADE RELATED, INFRASTRUCTURE:

Trade growth to sustain momentum in first quarter of 2018, latest trade indicator suggests - World Trade Organization (Feb 12)
"The WTO?s latest World Trade Outlook Indicator (WTOI), released on 12 February, suggests that the trade recovery of 2017 should continue, with solid trade volume growth in the first quarter of 2018." - Link [caption id="attachment_43167" align="alignleft" width="300"] The latest World Trade Outlook Indicator (courtesy of WTO).[/caption]
Australia and Peru sign free trade deal - Yahoo! Finance / AAP (Feb 11)
"We also agree that the regional economic integration of the Asia Pacific region is very important and we are working together to move that agenda forward." - Link
Trudeau Sees ?Clear Path Forward? on Nafta - Bloomberg - By Josh Wingrove (Feb 11) - Link
China traders cancel U.S. corn cargoes on tighter GMO controls, buy from Ukraine: sources - Reuters - By Hallie Gu, Dominique Patton (Feb 9)
"...become tougher for Chinese grain mills to get permits to process genetically modified corn this year..." - Link  

AG, AG TECH, RESEARCH, PRODUCTION, PROTECTION, RELATED ISSUES:

Their farm land was their lab - The Hindu (Feb 9)
"Some budding agriculturalists not only tweaked farming practices on their own fields, but also helped transform their village." - Link
Regulatory restructure of biotech is critical to the future of US agriculture - The Hill - By Tammy Lee Stanoch (Feb 11)
"...future food needs will require adding new innovative and transformative technologies to our current capabilities in agriculture..." - Link
99.5% of samples test below EPA benchmark residue level - Farm Press (Feb 9)
"Pesticide Data Program scientists and staff use rigorous sampling to test a wide variety of domestic and imported foods." - Link
 

POLICY, REGULATORY, ACTIVISM, OTHER:

German agri-strategy targets animal welfare, organic production - Food Navigator - By Katy Askew (Feb 12)

"German legislators have detailed plans to develop an animal welfare label and promote organic agriculture as part of a deal that could enable the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to head up a coalition government under Angela Merkel." - Link

Free-from foods are seen as healthier - especially GM-free and palm oil-free: study - Food Navigator - By Niamh Michail (Feb 9)

"However, the more nutritionally informed an individual was, the smaller the 'health halo' effect was." - Link

U.S. pledges support for biotech in Nigeria - New Telegraph (Nigeria) - By Caleb Onwe (Feb 9) - Link