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African swine fever has killed at least a million hogs in China … and the disease has spread to Vietnam, Cambodia and other Asian countries. U.S. hog farmers dread the prospect of the disease coming here, but the outbreak may offer them a slight reprieve from the ongoing trade war.
As China struggles to meet domestic demand for pork, it may buy more from the U-S. And raising more pigs in the U.S. means feeding them some of the soybeans that China hasn’t been buying.
But central Iowa farmer Denny Friest (rhymes with priest) is skeptical that selling more pork to China would help the soybean sector.
0515friest: Theoretically that would happen, but when you have all these tariffs and all these trade negotiation issues with China it’s going to be a problem getting there. (:08)
Friest also says regardless of the dispute with China, US farmers will continue to pursue new markets around the world.
Eight legislators and a lawyer have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a law giving the governor more control over the commission that nominates candidates for positions on the Iowa Supreme Court and Iowa Court of Appeals.
KCCI-TV reports the Democratic lawmakers and Cedar Rapids lawyer Bob Rush filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Polk County District Court and asked a judge to temporarily halt implementation of the law.
Last week, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill giving her the authority to appoint nine commissioners to the 17-member state commission. Lawyers will elect eight. Previously, the governor and lawyers each chose eight state members and the 17th member was the senior justice on the Iowa Supreme Court who wasn't the chief justice.
Republican lawmakers had insisted on changing the earlier process, which was established by a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 1962.
