State of Indiana sent this bulletin at 01/31/2020 08:52 AM EST
The Indiana State Hemp Plan was formally submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on December 26, 2019. Robert Waltz, Indiana State Chemist & Seed Commissioner, and Bruce Kettler, Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director, were the co-signers of the submitted plan.
Indiana Grown celebrated their upcoming five year anniversary in the historic Statehouse with program members, partners and legislators. During the celebration the Indiana Grown team highlighted their major accomplishments and outlined key priorities for the year ahead.
Attendees gathered to hear from Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch, who has been a longstanding supporter of Indiana Grown, along with ISDA Director Bruce Kettler and Indiana Grown Director Heather Tallman.
The program has added hundreds of farmers, growers, makers and producers to their member directory and have successfully partnered with retail stores like Kroger, Needlers and Target to promote local foods. In July of 2017, Indiana Grown officials hosted the first annual Monumental Marketplace, which is a one-of-a-kind market held on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.
Indiana Grown established Indiana Grown for Schools in conjunction with the Indiana State Department of Health and Purdue Extension. This program supports farm to school activities and provides a network of growers to school food service directors. Indiana Grown officials continue to seek out new partnership opportunities, and recently collaborated with Eskenazi Health to expand their local food offerings to patients and the public.
Recently, they received a grant to study the economic impact of buying local foods or products and to determine consumer and producer awareness. In 2020 Indiana Grown will open the nation’s first agriculture/airport partnership at the Indianapolis International Airport: Farmers’ Market featuring Indiana Grown.
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement was signed by President Trump on January 29, 2020. This agreement will remove tariffs, provide farmers with freer market access and strengthen our relationship with Mexico and Canada.
To read Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and ISDA Director Bruce Kettler's full statements click below!
This month, United States and China reached a phase one trade agreement, which was formally signed by President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
According to a fact sheet from the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, this phase one agreement focuses on intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services along with currency and foreign exchange. This agreement also includes a commitment by China that it will make substantial purchases of U.S. goods and services in the coming years.
“The trade deal made today in our nation's capital will have a significant impact on our country as a whole and specifically, right here in our Hoosier state,” said Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch, Secretary of Agricultural and Rural Development. “With China being one of Indiana’s top five trading partners, we are certain this deal will strengthen Indiana’s economy and provide an even greater boost to our farmers and the agriculture industry.”
Agriculture highlights of the trade agreement include:
China will purchase and import at least $40 billion of U.S. food, agricultural and seafood products annually over the next two years
China has agreed to streamline the regulatory process by implementing a predicable and science based approval method for products of agricultural biotechnology
China will expand the scope of beef products, pork products and processed meats eligible for importation
Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler attended the signing ceremony today in Washington D.C. Others in attendance included, Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and other congressional and national industry leaders.
“It was an honor to be invited and watch the signing of this historic deal,” Kettler said. “We are excited to further develop our relationship with China and are looking forward to the positive impact this will have on Indiana agriculture now, and in the future.”
In 2017, Indiana shipped $4.6 billion in domestic agriculture products abroad, making Indiana the country’s eighth largest agricultural exporting state. In addition to agriculture commodities, China is one of Indiana’s top export markets for hardwoods, over $55.3 million was exported in 2017. China is a crucial trading partner to the U.S., according to the USDA soybean exports to China totaled 9.4 million tons last year.
The trade deal, which has been widely celebrated by the agriculture industry, is the first phase of a comprehensive agreement that will be negotiated with China, according to the Trump administration.
Click here for information from Office of the United States Trade Representative, which includes key commodities and elements of the U.S. – China Trade Agreement.
