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Grocery inflation expected to be at its lowest since 2019

Grocery prices will rise a modest 1.2 percent this year and 1.1 percent in 2025, the smallest increases since 2019 but modestly higher than previously forecast, said USDA economists. Beef prices were expected to rise 5.6 percent this year, faster than its usual annual increase, but slow down in the new year.

Big cane and beet output add up to record U.S. sugar production

U.S. sugar production will be the highest ever in the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, thanks to peak sugarbeet and sugarcane output, said a monthly USDA report. Production was forecast at 9.514 million tons, raw value, a nearly 4 percent increase from the current year.

A long wait for farm subsidies to arrive

The ongoing decline in commodity prices is expected to pinch farmer revenue, but a commonly proposed solution — higher crop support rates — would provide little immediate relief, said farm policy expert Jonathan Coppess on Thursday.

Walz seeks to flip the script on Republicans in the heartland

In FERN’s latest story, in partnership with The New York Times, reporter Ted Genoways explains how Tim Walz, the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee, is taking the fight to Republicans in rural America.

Mexico is on China’s heels as top U.S. food and ag export market

China was less than $500 million ahead of Mexico as the leading customer for U.S. food and ag exports as the fiscal year entered its final months, according to USDA data released Wednesday. The agricultural trade deficit, forecast to set a record this year, was already at $18.8 billion, with three months to go.

Poll: ‘Walz is more country than Vance’

Americans generally find Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be more “authentic” than Ohio Sen. JD Vance, according to an Axios Vibes poll about the Democratic and Republican nominees for vice president released on Wednesday. And by 41 percent to 35 percent, they say Walz, the Democrat, understands the issues affecting rural and small-town America better than Vance, the Republican.

EPA issues ‘herbicide strategy’ to protect hundreds of imperiled species

By adopting a so-called herbicide strategy, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday it will incorporate protections for more than 900 threatened and endangered species in the approval and renewal process for weedkillers. The strategy calls on the agency to identify ways for pesticide users to reduce the risk to imperiled species from airborne drift or runoff, such as windbreaks.

Solar premium for farmland is 1.4 percent per mile, says analysis

A comparison of farmland sales in Indiana indicates that land rises in value by 1.4 percent for each mile it is closer to a commercial-scale solar energy facility, said a graduate research assistant at Purdue University. The analysis gave weight to a rising belief that energy production was becoming a factor in land prices.

Grasslands share of Conservation Reserve grows larger

An ever-larger share of land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve will be devoted to grasslands — nearly 4 of every 10 acres — with the results of this year's signup for the long-term land stewardship program, said the Agriculture Department on Monday. With the new enrollments, the Conservation Reserve is near the 27-million-acre limit set by the 2018 farm law.

Democratic platform calls for net-zero agricultural emissions by 2050

The U.S. farm sector would be the first in the world to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 with the assistance of projects such as the USDA's climate-smart agriculture initiatives, said the Democratic Party platform released on Monday. Delegates to the party's national convention in Chicago were scheduled to vote on the platform on Tuesday.

Harris: ‘I will go after the bad actors’ who unfairly drive up food prices

At the same time that she pledged "the first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food," Vice President Kamala Harris said she would help the food industry become more competitive. "As president, I will take on the high costs that matter to most Americans, like the cost of food," she said during a speech in North Carolina.

USDA grant money to boost sales of higher-blend biofuels

The Biden administration awarded $90.3 million in grants to projects in 26 states, from California to Connecticut, to install blender pumps, storage tanks, and other equipment for the sale of fuels, such as E15, with higher-than-usual blends of biofuels, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. With the grants, the USDA has used $221 million of the $500 available through the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program.

More crops, more farming practices should get a share of SAF credits, says Vilsack

The USDA is arguing for broader farmer eligibility for a share of tax credits of up to $1.25 a gallon for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), said Agriculture Secretary Tom Viilsack on Thursday. Farm groups have called for a broader array of crops and farming practices to be included in the 45Z tax credit regulations now being formulated by the Biden administration.

We’re being scapegoated, says meat industry

With Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris expected to call for action against "corporate price gouging in the food and grocery industries," the meat industry said on Thursday that it is not to blame for high prices. "Americans are seeing inflation in every part of their livelihoods — rent, gas, automobiles, furniture — not just in the meat case," said the National Chicken Council, speaking for the broiler chicken industry.

FDA sets new target for less salt in foods

Food makers and restaurants were asked by the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday to voluntarily reduce salt levels in 163 categories of food over a three-year period. Americans still would consume more salt than is recommended in the Dietary Guidelines, 2,750 milligrams a day vs. 2,300 milligrams, but "even modest improvements across the population could produce a large public health benefit," said the agency.

Food inflation rate is lowest since May 2021

Food prices rose by a modest 2.2 percent in the past year, and while hamburger and pork chops cost more than they did last July, cheese, rice, and potatoes cost less, said the Labor Department on Wednesday. It was the sixth month in a row of low food inflation, and a Purdue survey indicated that inflation-wary consumers believe food prices are moderating.

Vance misidentifies Granholm as agriculture secretary

At a campaign stop in Michigan, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said on Wednesday, “We’re going to fire the agriculture secretary, right? She’s not doing a very good job.” Vance seemed to confuse the energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2010, with Tom Vilsack, who is serving his third term as agriculture secretary.

USDA plans one-year test of culled dairy cows for H5N1 virus

At the same time that the FDA said a second round of tests showed pasteurization kills the bird flu virus in dairy products, the USDA said it would test beef from culled dairy cows for the H5N1 avian flu virus for the coming year. Nearly $2 million has been paid to dairy farmers since July 1 as compensation for milk production lost to bird flu.

Farm income is down in Plains, say ag bankers

More than six of every 10 ag bankers in a Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank survey said that farm income was lower than a year ago and demand for loans was up. “Strong cattle prices have supported profit margins in the cattle sector, but prices for crops have declined faster than production expenses,” said the regional Fed on Tuesday.

Bumper U.S. crops this fall will drive farm-gate prices lower, says USDA

Farmers will reap their largest soybean crop ever this year, and the third-largest corn crop, said the Agriculture Department on Monday in its first forecast of the fall harvest. The mammoth crops will outpace demand and drive down prices, it said. Corn and soybean inventories would balloon to the largest size in six years and weigh on commodity markets far into 2025.