Brent Landis Agriculture Services Coordinator \+M\ The Lancaster Chamber ' ! ▼ «f C tmmion &■ hulu so-. Phone: (717) 397-3531 ext. 62 E-mail:blandis@lcci.com INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN RUSSIA FOR THE AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY The globalization of agricul ture is one of the biggest chal lenges agriculture continues to face. Future growth in interna tional markets shows promising signs for U.S. agriculture, which produces more than half of the world’s food production, while providing a quarter of the world’s total agricultural ex ports. Our country’s population spends between 10-11 percent of its household budget on food. This helps illustrate enormous potential for food exports to de veloping countries such as Russia, which spends between 80-90 percent of its household -- 1 ? Vm ■ V s >£•4 ' fjfcl more information, call our hotline at 1-800-208-4094, visit our web site at www.dowagro.com/midwest or see your retailer. And see why fop Notch is fast becoming a best-seller. , . _ . „ ~ _ _ .. . . Alwavs read and follow label directions Dow AgroSaences LLC, Trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC Top Notch is a restricted use pestade Amaya 9330 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268-1054 Illustrations obtained from Weeds of Nebraska and me Great Plains ■ budget on food and has a market of 150 million customers. Russia’s economy is showing a positive growth trend with a new measure of stability after nearly a decade of an unstable economy. Their import market is growing and shows signs to possibly repeat its 1994 growth pattern, when it became the fast est growing food market in the world. Thanks to high oil prices, Russia expects a seven percent annual growth rate in 2001. The Ruble devaluation has dramatically lowered local busi ness costs. Foreign direct invest ment from the European Union is growing, which will continue to help strengthen Russia’s economy. The administration of President Putin has declared its intention to improve the busi- ness climate and seek more for eign investment. The third-quarter report for the 2000 U.S. agricultural ex porters to Russia is $l2O million, from which poultry encom passed a 70 percent share. There are signs that Russia’s imports may expand past the single com modity stage. This may include niche markets in the food pro cessing industry. Multinational food processors are sourcing more raw materials locally. Russia is likely to regain its place as a strong and dynamic market for U.S. agricultural and food exports because the limited capability of Russia’s agricul tural industry to meet their do mestic demand for food products. To better inform the agricul ture industry and other inter ested businesses about the opportunities and benefits of ex porting to Russia, The Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and In dustry will be hosting an inform ative seminar, “Investment Opportunities in Russia for the American Agriculture Indus try,” Friday, March 16 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. This seminar is coordinated by the USDA and the Pennsylvania Russia Busi ness Council and sponsored in part by the South-central Penn sylvania International Network (SPIN). The event will present AgroSciences Top Notch information on the current Rus sian agribusiness market and how Mid-Atlantic area busi nesses can safely explore these opportunities. The seminar is ideal for any businesses that offer products or services related to agriculture, businesses that are interested in the Russian market, or individu als interested in investment op portunities in Russia. Representatives from the USDA along with selected technical ex perts from the field will be present to discuss these many opportunities. Following this seminar, the USDA and U.S. Agriculture In ternational Development (USAID) will sponsor a trade Penn State Dairy Housing Plans: Second Edition ITHACA, N.Y. Good dairy housing provides animals with a clean, dry, and comfortable area for resting, eating, drinking,-and exercising. In addition, it is cost effective to build and maintain, provides safe and efficient work ing conditions for caretakers, and protects the environment. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 10,2001-A25 mission to Russia (specifically Rostov, Samara, and Lipetsk) to explore new trade opportunities. These agencies have worked fo*- several years to pave the way for U.S. investment and trade in se lected Russian regions. The cost of the seminar is $35 for Lancaster Chamber and PRBC members and $45 for non-members. To register or for more program details, visit the Chamber Website at www.lancaster-chamber.com or contact Brent Landis at (717) 397-3531, ext. 134, or e-mail blandis@lcci.com. You can visit the Pennsylvania-Russia Busi ness Council Website for more information at www.fita.org/ prbc. Penn State Dairy Housing Plans, NRAES-85, (originally pub lished January 1998), offers 29 plans developed by faculty and staff of the Department of Agri cultural and Biological Engi neering at The Pennsylvania State University and Penn State Cooperative Extension. The plans pro vide information that can help plan a more successful freestall barn, heifer barn, or dry cow and maternity housing facility. A revision of Penn State Freestall and Heifer Housing Plans (1994), this 106-page publication offers 12 freestall housing plans, six heifer housing plans, four dry cow and maternity housing plans, and seven plans for details and components. For this edition all plans have been revised to incorporate the latest recommendations for freestall design, ventilation, and cow movement. Also in this edition are introductory discussions for each section and a list of suggested readings. The freestall section offers plans for vari ous two-row, three-row, four-row, and six row freestall barns. Included in the heifer section are plans for bedded pack housing, counter-slope housing, single-slope housing, and three types of heifer freestall barns. The section on dry cow and maternity housing contains ideas for housing dry cows in bedded pack groups, multiple pen barns with drive though feeding, pre-fresh/maternity pen areas, convalescence areas, and post-fresh housing facilities. Included in the detail and components sec tion are sidewall curtains/drainage, watering locations, floor surfaces, feed barriers, free stalls, and ventilation openings. The plans are drawn for specific numbers of animals, but in most cases they can be changed to accommo date the numbers of cows or heifers needing housing. It is available for $l5 per copy (plus ship ping and handling) from NRAES. For more information or a free publication catalog, contact NRAES by phone at (607) 255-7654, by fax at (607) 254-8770, or by e-mail at nraes@cornel). Visit the Web site at vww.nraes.org. If HA
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