Climate change prompts talk of permanent USDA disaster fund
Farmers’ share of food dollar is shrinking
A decade ago, farmers received 17.6 cents of each $1 spent on food by Americans. Their share now is barely above 14 cents while processors, retailers and others in the food chain take a larger share, according to USDA economists, who have tracked the farmer/marketer relationship for a quarter century.
Address imbalances in cattle market, say farm groups
Overseas, harvested land is expanding faster than in the U.S.
Dairy likely to highlight USMCA consultations
Trade ministers from Canada, Mexico and the United States are scheduled to confer digitally on Monday and Tuesday in the first meeting of the USMCA's Fair Trade Commission, with dairy expected to be the hot topic. U.S. dairy groups called on Sunday for the Biden administration to escalate an ongoing complaint against Canadian dairy quotas unless this week's meeting produces results.
China buys lower-cost ‘new crop’ corn from U.S.
After buying huge amounts of the 2020 U.S. corn crop, China bought a total of 3.74 million tonnes (147 million bushels) of American corn last week, all of it for delivery after this year's crop is mature, reported the USDA. "New crop" corn was 80 cents to $1 a bushel lower in price at the Chicago futures markets than the 2020 crop.
Flush times for farmers, buoyed by strong markets and pandemic aid
Farmers in the Midwest and Plains are reaping a cash bonanza that has dramatically improved their finances a year after the pandemic pummeled commodity markets and prompted a record $46 billion in federal payments to agriculture, said three regional Federal Reserve banks on Thursday. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Stronger protections needed for farmworkers as pandemic stretches into second year, argue researchers
Farmworkers face serious occupational risks that the pandemic has only exacerbated, and better policies are needed to protect them from exposure to heat, chemicals, and Covid-19, say two new related reports on social and health conditions in the sector.
Hunger relief organizations say pandemic revealed systemic flaws
Safety constraints related to the coronavirus pandemic forced hunger relief organizations to eliminate key operations over the last year, including community meals and school-related programs, even as they struggled to meet increased demand for their services, according to a survey released yesterday by WhyHunger and Duke University.
‘Very dangerous fire year’ is likely, say Biden officials
The government will deploy 15,000 firefighters, 1,600 engines, and 625 aircraft against what is expected to be another dangerous year for wildfires, said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday.
USDA plans its single biggest seafood purchase
The USDA said Thursday it would buy $159.4 million worth of U.S.-produced seafood, nuts, fruits, and vegetables for its public nutrition programs, including donations to charity. The deal includes the agency's single largest purchase of seafood ever.
USDA forecasts highest prices for U.S. crops in years amid global boom
U.S. farmers will reap two of their largest corn and soybean crops ever and sell them for the highest average prices since the commodity boom ended several years ago, said the government Wednesday in its first projections of the fall harvest. The USDA also said that global soybean king Brazil would increase its share of the world market at the expense of U.S. exports.
A plan to make Denmark’s food system carbon neutral by 2050
Two years ago, Denmark’s farming sector announced a bold goal: Its food industry would become carbon neutral by 2050 and serve as a model for the rest of the world. This week, a new report commissioned by a Danish agriculture industry trade group lays out a strategy for how the country can reduce emissions while producing significantly more food. <strong> No paywall </strong>
Dean says USDA will bring standards for school meals, WIC, in line with Dietary Guidelines
With hunger levels stubbornly high and an estimated 1 in 5 American children obese, Stacy Dean, the deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services, told lawmakers Wednesday that the USDA would update nutrition standards for school meals and the WIC program to meet current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
USDA ‘hiring at an extremely fast pace’ to rebuild ERS and NIFA
One-third of the jobs at two USDA research agencies are still vacant 18 months after their abrupt Trump-era relocation to Kansas City, said the chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees the USDA budget on Wednesday.
‘Put kids first,’ say advocates in call for universal free school meals
On the heels of new legislation that would provide free school meals to all American children, advocates from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), American Academy of Pediatrics and American Federation of Teachers doubled down on the urgent need for action amid persistent childhood hunger and an escalating obesity crisis.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
World Food Prize goes to developer of fish-based food systems
Shakuntala Thilsted, who spent years proving, and then promoting, the value of fish grown in backyard ponds to improve the diets of poor families in Asia and Africa, was the 2021 winner of the $250,000 World Food, the sponsoring foundation announced on Tuesday. In Bangladesh, her pond-polyculture approach supports 18 million people and turned the nation into the world's fifth-largest aquaculture producer.
USDA approves drought counties for emergency loans
In a two-day burst, the USDA designated 372 counties, roughly 1 of every 7 counties in the country, from Texas and Kansas to California and Hawaii, as natural disaster areas due to persistent drought. At the same time, Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded California's drought emergency to 41 counties, including parts of the agricultural Central Valley.
Bronaugh cleared for Senate vote to be deputy agriculture secretary