US agriculture visit

Baw Baw Shire recently welcomed officials from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) who visited the area as part of an information sharing and fact finding mission.
Levin Flake and Zelko Biki are both agricultural specialists working out of the US Embassy in Canberra and on Wednesday they met with representatives from Agriculture Victoria, Dairy Australia, the Gippsland Dairy Board and local dairy farmers at the Ellinbank Dairy Research Institute.
The representatives visited the Smart Farm in Ellinbank and undertook tours to farms in the area. They also spoke with local farmers on recent trends in the dairy industry across the world.
As part of its charter the USDA collects data on all international agriculture sectors and compiles this information into a major report on the state of world farming. This report is used by interested parties across the globe to help better understand current trends, help with forecasting and to inform policy and practices.