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News from the Minnesota Association of Wheat |
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CHINA TRADE BILL TO BE VOTED ON TODAY Republican vote-counters were confident they would deliver nearly 150 votes, and possibly more, in favor of granting
permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to China in a do-or-die vote pitting labor unions against corporate America in one of the biggest legislative battles of Clinton's presidency. So far, 68 Democrats have
publicly announced their support for the trade bill, even as labor unions launched a final lobbying blitz with dire warnings that passage of PNTR would undermine human rights in China and cost hundreds of thousands of
American workers their jobs. If Republican and Democratic supporters meet their goal, they will surpass the 218-vote threshold in the 435-member House for passage of the PNTR bill, which would also set up a
commission to monitor Chinese human rights. According to a Reuters poll, 68 Democrats have publicly declared their supporters of the bill. That's the exact number needed for passage if Republicans deliver their 150
votes. PNTR already enjoys broad bipartisan support in the Senate, where approval is expected in June.
OPPONENTS DEFIANT John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO labor federation, said he would fight to the wire to persuade lawmakers. David Bonior, the House's No. 2 Democrat and a leading PNTR opponent, declared:
"We can beat this thing." Though allied with the White House on most legislative issues, trade bills have long divided Clinton's party and two out of three Democrats in the House were expected to vote
against PNTR in a show of support for labor unions, a key constituency ahead of the November congressional election. Supporters say the pact would spur economic and eventually political reform in Beijing
and benefit U.S. companies eager to tap into the vast Chinese marketplace, potentially the world's largest with 1.3 billion consumers.
GLICKMAN ENCOURAGES CONGRESS TO USE A COUNTER-CYCLICAL PAYMENT METHOD
TAIWANESE TO PURCHASE 55 MILLION BUSHELS OF U.S. WHEAT A formal signing ceremony and press conference will be held at 8 a.m. in the State Capitol's Memorial Hall. The event is the highlight of the Taiwan Agricultural Goodwill Mission in
North Dakota. "Taiwan is an important customer for North Dakota's quality wheat, and we are extremely pleased to share this positive trading partnership with them," Schafer said. The Flour Mills
Association provides collective buying and shipping services for Taiwan's 31 flour mills. The proposed agreement outlines their plan to purchase 1.5 to 1.7 million metric tons (55 to 62 million bushels) of U.S. wheat
between Jan. 1, 2000, and Dec. 31, 2001. "This mission serves to strengthen an already close trade relationship and long-term friendship between Taiwanese flour millers and North Dakota farmers," Lee said.
Lee farms near Berthold, N.D. Taiwan is consistently the third largest export market for U.S. hard red spring wheat, the predominate class of wheat produced in the state, with average annual purchases of 19 million
bushels. The largest milling company in Taiwan is also developing as a buyer of durum, the other primary wheat class grown in North Dakota. The Taiwanese mill executives will get a first-hand look at North Dakota
spring wheat and durum fields from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Friday when they tour Wheat Commission board member Don Paulson's farm near Coleharbor. K.H. Lu, director of the U.S. Wheat Associates' Taipei office, will be
traveling with the trade mission. Lu conducts market development work in Taiwan on behalf of American wheat growers. He says total U.S. wheat sales to Taiwan could potentially reach 40 million bushels per year by 2005
if U.S. marketing efforts continue. Taiwan's average annual purchases of all classes of U.S. wheat currently average 34 million bushels. U.S. farmers compete with the wheat boards of Australia and Canada for Taiwan's
wheat import business, but have been fortunate to maintain an 85 percent market share. The delegation is in Washington, D.C., Tuesday and Wednesday, to sign a comprehensive letter of intent to purchase U.S.
agricultural products and meet with U.S. trade and agriculture officials. Members of the trade mission interested in corn and soybeans will visit Illinois, Nebraska and Indiana. After visiting North Dakota, the wheat
representatives will travel to Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho. Taiwan flour millers are among the most quality-conscious wheatbuyers in the world, Lee said. In addition to their current grade, protein and moisture
specifications, the Taiwan Flour Mills Association plans to reduce its maximum dockage specification from a 0.5 percent limit to 0.4 percent on July 1. CONTACT: Julie Liffrig, 701/328-2200
DROUGHT WORRIES GROW FOR U.S.
SOUTH, MIDWEST "If conditions are dry at the end of May as we go into June, by the time we get to July, we're unlikely to get
relief," said Kevin Trenberth, head of climate analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. Dry weather promotes more dry weather, since there is little moisture to pick up from
the ground to feed storms, Trenberth said. Summer heat will dry things out further. Drought has hit hardest in the southwest, especially southern Texas and New Mexico; the central plains, primarily in western
Nebraska and Iowa; and a swath along the Gulf of Mexico. Less severe drought has gripped the nation's midsection, particularly Illinois and Indiana, and the Southeast, from Alabama through Florida up to Virginia. A combination of meteorological factors appears to be at work in creating the drought. Most perplexing to meteorologists has been the on-again, off-again La Nina, a fickle phenomenon marked by
cooler-than-normal surface waters in the eastern and central Pacific.
WEB SITES, BOOK CAN AID WEED IDENTIFICATION
The Extension Service has several web-based guides to identify weed seedlings, notes Schwartau. Go to the Extension Service home
page at www.extension.umn.edu/ and at the search line, enter "weed seedlings." This will provide several links to images of weeds in seedling stages, when they are often harder to identify but easier to
control. A web site at Another site Schwartau recommends is
Those who prefer to use a book for weed identification can check "Weeds of the North Central States." This book has a keying
system to help identify plants based on characteristics such as flower color and leaf shape, as well as sketches of plants. The book is available in many bookstores, including those at the University of Minnesota.
Source: Chuck Schwartau, (651) 385-3100
APHID CONTROL
APPLY FUNGICIDES Check out the following for more informationApplying Fungicides More Effectively to Control Scabhttp://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/ageng/machine/ae1148w.htm |
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