AM Live Ag Report

FRESNO, Calif.

A federal judge in California issued a ruling earlier this month that prevents planting genetically modified sugar beets until the department of agriculture studies the effect the crop could have on other food.

Industry officials say farmers need to be patient and let the process play out. Some farmers fear there aren't enough conventional seeds to plant next year.

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Mexico has released a list of 99 U.S. products subject to higher tariffs.

The tariff increases are an attempt to pressure Washington to lift a U.S. ban on Mexican cargo trucks. The tariffs range from five to 15-percent and apply to products including cheese, fruits, juices, wine, toilet paper and some pork products.

The tariffs will affect about $2.5 dollars worth of trade from 43 states. The tariffs were imposed to protest the cancellation of a pilot program allowing some Mexican trucks to transport goods into the U.S.

Mexico says the suspension violates the North American Free Trade Agreement.

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Democratic lawmakers have pushed through their latest attempt to modify the union election process affecting California's 450,000 farm workers.

The State Senate voted to require the state's Agricultural Labor Relations Board to declare a union victory when an employer has been found to have corrupted the voting process and affected the outcome.

Supporters say the rule aims to ensure fair, coercion-free elections. Critics say it pushes a pro-union agenda and complicates a system that already has adequate protections in place.

The Center for Economic Policy Research in Washington, D.C., says fewer than 4-percent of farm workers in California are unionized.

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