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A Huge Win On Trade

During this era of polarized politics, sometimes good news can fall through the cracks. Such was the case recently, when the United States and Japan completed “Phase One” of a trade agreement.
 
This agreement is huge for American agriculture, and Nebraska agriculture in particular. Currently, Japan is Nebraska’s number one trade market for beef, pork, egg and wheat exports. These accomplishments have come despite existing Japanese tariffs and trade barriers on U.S. agriculture products.
 
Nebraskans are proud of our long history of agriculture and the products we export. Nebraska beef is world famous and sought after. In fact, the top three cattle producing counties in the nation (Cherry, Custer, and Holt Counties) are in the Third District of Nebraska. In 2018 alone, $412.1 million of Nebraska beef was exported to Japan. 
 
 
We had previously received good news in May when Japan lifted age restrictions on imported U.S. beef, eliminating a barrier which had been in place since 2003. This was a positive step forward, but more needed to be done. As the Co-chair of the U.S. Japan Caucus, I have long advocated for a bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. and Japan, including introducing a resolution in the House calling for one in 2017. The reduction of trade barriers between the U.S. and Japan would benefit producers and consumers.
 
The administration and Japan have been working toward a trade agreement for some time. On September 25, President Trump and Prime Minister Abe announced they had signed a limited trade deal bringing Japanese tariff rates on U.S. agriculture in line with our competitors, along with similar tariff reductions on digital and industrial products. The tariff changes are expected to take effect by the first of the year, so the benefits will be seen sooner rather than later.
 
As the third largest economy in the world with 127 million people living inside its borders, Japan is critical to expanding U.S. trade. It is estimated this trade agreement will reduce tariffs on an additional $7.2 billion, opening the door for U.S. agriculture products and increasing market access for producers. 
 
The next step would be to sign a comprehensive deal with Japan. A comprehensive agreement, ratified by Congress, would provide certainty, which is good for both countries. I look forward to the future of U.S.-Japan relations and seeing the continued success of a strong trading partnership.
Source : House.gov

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Moving Ag Research Forward Through Collaboration

Video: Moving Ag Research Forward Through Collaboration



BY: Ashley Robinson

It may seem that public and private researchers have different goals when it comes to agricultural research. However, their different strategies can work in tandem to drive agricultural research forward. Public research may focus more on high-risk and applied research with federal or outside funding, while private sector researchers focus more on research application.

“For me, the sweet spot for public private sector research is when we identify problems and collaborate and can use that diverse perspective to address the different aspects of the challenge. Public sector researchers can work on basic science high risk solutions as tools and technologies are developed. They then can work with their private sector partners who prototype solutions,” Mitch Tuinstra, professor of plant breeding and genetics in Purdue University’s Department of Agronomy, said during the Jan. 10 episode of Seed Speaks.

Public researchers they have the flexibility to be more curiosity driven in their work and do discovery research. This is complimentary to private research, which focuses on delivering a product, explained Jed Christianson, canola product design lead for Bayer CropScience, explained during the episode.

“As a seed developer, we worry about things like new crop diseases emerging. Having strong public sector research where people can look into how a disease lifecycle cycle works, how widespread is it and what damage it causes really helps inform our product development strategies,” he added.

It’s not always easy though to develop these partnerships. For Christianson, it’s simple to call up a colleague at Bayer and start working on a research project. Working with someone outside of his company requires approvals from more people and potential contracts.

“Partnerships take time, and you always need to be careful when you're establishing those contracts. For discoveries made within the agreement, there need to be clear mechanisms for sharing credits and guidelines for anything brought into the research to be used in ways that both parties are comfortable with,” Christianson said.

Kamil Witek, group leader of 2Blades, a non-profit that works with public and private ag researchers, pointed out there can be limitations and challenges to these partnerships. While private researchers are driven by being able to make profits and stay ahead of competitors, public researchers may be focused on information sharing and making it accessible to all.

“The way we deal with this, we work in this unique dual market model. Where on one hand we work with business collaborators, with companies to deliver value to perform projects for them. And at the same time, we return the rights to our discoveries to the IP to use for the public good in developing countries,” Witek said during the episode.

At the end of the day, the focus for all researchers is to drive agricultural research forward through combining the knowledge, skills and specializations of the whole innovation chain, Witek added.

“If there's a win in it for me, and there's a win in it for my private sector colleagues in my case, because I'm on the public side, it’s very likely to succeed, because there's something in it for all of us and everyone's motivated to move forward,” Tuinstra said.