RISING AG EXPORTS IMPORTANT TO U.S. ECONOMIC RECOVERY, TRADE

(Farm Futures) -- FarmFutures.com reports that at a House Agriculture Committee hearing last week "on the pending free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack" told members of Congress that "U.S. farm exports reached an all-time high of $75 billion in the first half of fiscal year 2011." He added that U.S. agricultural exports "are forecast to reach a record high of $135.5 billion, up nearly $27 billion from the previous year."