Ag briefs: U.S. says March 1 'hard deadline' for trade with deal China

WASHINGTON D.C.

U.S. says March 1 'hard deadline' for trade deal with China

Unless U.S.-China trade talks wrap up successfully by March 1, new tariffs will be imposed, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Sunday, clarifying there is a “hard deadline” after a week of seeming confusion among President Donald Trump and his advisers.

“As far as I am concerned it is a hard deadline. When I talk to the president of the United States he is not talking about going beyond March,” said Lighthizer who made the comments on the CBS show “Face the Nation,” referring to Trump’s recent decision to delay new tariffs while talks proceed.

“The way this is set up is that at the end of 90 days, these tariffs will be raised,” said Lighthizer, who has been tapped to lead the talks and appeared to tamp down expectations that the negotiation period could be extended.

According to a Reuters report, in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said both countries’ economic and trade teams were “intensifying contacts and consultations”, when asked if China was sending a trade negotiation delegation to the United States this week.

“We hope both can earnestly, with joint efforts, put into effect the consensus reached by the two countries’ leaders at the Argentina meeting,” he told a daily news briefing.

Cincinnati, OH

Movie has cattle call for real cows, dairy need not apply

A film promotion organization in Cincinnati is holding a cattle call for actual cattle.
The nonprofit Film Cincinnati put out a vague call for a major motion picture Friday, saying it needed cows for a movie.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the request is specific about what types of cows are needed. Only non-milking brown and white cows need apply.

Film Cincinnati says the cows should also be human friendly, halter trained, and from the same herd. But it's unclear what movie is being filmed with the cows.

MORGAN HILL, CA

60 pregnant goats stolen from farm

A small businessman in Northern California is desperately searching for 60 pregnant goats stolen in an elaborate heist.

Brian Allen, owner of Green Goat Landscapers, tells the San Francisco Chronicle the herd was stolen from a field in Morgan Hill over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Allen says he left the goats and their guardian dog behind an electric fence so that they could feed on an abandoned driving range.

He says the thieves shut off the power to the electric fence, cut a hole through it and herded the goats into his trailer before driving off.

Allen says they probably distracted his 120-pound Anatolian shepherd guard dog with food. The trailer was later found but without goats.

VENDOR, AR

Judge: Hog farm's lawsuit vs. state to continue

A recent ruling has upheld an Arkansas hog farm's lawsuit against the state's environmental policy-making body over its permit application to operate near the Buffalo River.

The Baxter Bulletin reports that Newton County Circuit Judge John Putman on Friday denied the Arkansas Pollution and Ecology Commission's motion seeking to dismiss the lawsuit filed by C&H Hog Farms in Vendor.

The ruling says the court will continue to hear arguments in the case that argues the commission erred by failing to reverse the farm's January permit denial by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.

The farm appealed the department's denial, but the commission sent the issue back to the department in August for further consideration.

The commission had argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the department issued a second permit denial Nov. 19, citing water quality issues.

ASTORIA, OR

Crab season delayed again

Oregon's Dungeness crab fishery will not open until at least Dec. 31 after testing by state fishery managers revealed crabs are still too low in meat yield in some areas of the coast.

The Daily Astorian reports the valuable commercial fishery traditionally opens on Dec. 1. In November, fishery managers announced the season would be delayed until mid-December because crabs were not plump enough.

The commercial Dungeness crab fishery is managed under a tri-state agreement between Washington state, Oregon and California. In early December, multiple areas within the region still did not meet the criteria for an opening, according to Oregon fishery managers.

CRAWFORDVILLE, GA

Poultry producer expanding into GA's smallest county

Georgia-based poultry producer is expanding with a new facility planned for the state's smallest county.

Harrison Poultry Inc. recently began construction on a $70 million feed mill and hatchery in Taliaferro  County. Gov. Nathan Deal's office announced the expansion, which the company says will create 102 jobs.

Deal's office said in a news release that the new facility will enable Harrison Poultry to add up to 165 new broiler houses and produce up to 18,000 tons of feed weekly.
Taliaferro County has roughly 1,700 total residents, the smallest population of any of Georgia's 159 counties. Harrison Poultry's new operation will be located in Crawfordville, about 55 miles west of Augusta.