School meal programs have lost more than $483 million so far during the pandemic
School meal programs have taken a massive financial hit during the coronavirus crisis, according to a new survey from the School Nutrition Association. The survey, which includes responses from school nutrition directors in 1,614 school districts across the country, points to the crippling costs of adapting to pandemic-related constraints, and significant losses due to a drop in participation in the school-lunch program.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
CDC report reveals thousands of previously undisclosed Covid-19 cases in food workplaces
U.S. appeals court rejects injunction against California’s ‘cage-free’ Prop 12
In a ruling hailed as a victory for farm animals, the U.S. appellate court in San Francisco denied a meat industry request for an injunction against California's voter-approved Proposition 12, which guarantees more space for hogs, calves, and chickens to move about. The meat industry contends that Prop 12 and similar state laws violate the so-called commerce clause of the Constitution, though they have failed repeatedly to persuade the courts.
Study: Participation in afterschool nutrition programs was rising before pandemic
Even before the pandemic, participation in Afterschool Nutrition Programs was on the rise, according to a report released today from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). The findings highlight the need to ensure meal access when kids aren’t in school, particularly as the pandemic drags on.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
It’s early, but China is No. 1 buyer of U.S. corn
Thanks to a buying spree, China is far and away the top customer for U.S. corn six weeks into the marketing year, said chief executive Ryan LeGrand of the U.S. Grains Council on Thursday. Its purchases of 10.4 million tonnes for delivery during 2020/21 are twice as large as sales to date to Mexico, usually the No. 1 importer.
Characteristics of cell-based meat matter for labeling, meat lobby says
Perdue sitting on food box details, say House Democrats
Advocates fear canceling Farm Labor Survey is first step in gutting guest farmworker protections
Farmworker advocates fear the USDA’s decision last month to cancel the Farm Labor Survey is a step toward dismantling the already modest protections for agricultural guestworkers under the H-2A visa program in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Pilgrim’s to pay $110.5 million fine in U.S. price-fixing investigation
The second-largest poultry processor in the country, Pilgrim's Pride Corp., said on Wednesday that it will pay a $110.5 million fine as part of a plea agreement with the Justice Department, which is investigating price fixing in broiler chicken products. Pilgrim's announced the plea deal one week after a second former chief executive was indicted on charges of being part of a multiyear conspiracy among industry executives to rig bids and fix prices. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
U.S. corn and soy crops: Not quite as big now
Lawsuit says Trump administration tries to cut farm wages
Agricultural guestworkers will see sharply lower wages because of the USDA's decision to cancel a semiannual survey that is used to calculate their pay, said a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal district court in Fresno, California. The suit asks the court to order the USDA to carry out the October survey so that the Labor Department can use the results to set minimum wages for the country's 250,000 or more H-2A guestworkers.
On the calendar, week of Oct. 13, 2020
Ethanol and China are flash points for Trump and Biden campaigns
President Trump "sold out ethanol to Big Oil" by handing out dozens of exemptions from the ethanol mandate, said Iowa farmer Pam Johnson, speaking for the Biden campaign, during a discussion of the agricultural platforms of the presidential candidates on Tuesday. "We haven't abandoned the RFS and we aren't going to — ever," retorted Trump representative Sam Clovis.
Perdue violated rules against politicking on the job, says ethics agency
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue violated a 1939 law against politicking on the job when he urged the re-election of President Trump at a produce packing house in North Carolina on Aug. 24 and must reimburse the government "for the costs associated with his political activity," said the U.S. Office of Special Counsel on Thursday.
USDA pays $1.5 billion a week in coronavirus relief
In just three weeks, the USDA sent $4.52 billion to farmers and ranchers through its new coronavirus relief program, data released on Tuesday show. More than $4 of every $10 disbursed by the so-called CFAP2 went to corn and soybean growers, concentrated in the Midwest.
USDA begins rollout of $100 million in biofuels grants
The Department of Agriculture announced the first round of grants on Thursday from a $100 million program for the installation of pumps and storage tanks to increase the sale of higher blends of biofuels, such as E15 or E85. Projects in 14 states, from California to Florida and New York, will be funded by the $22 million in grants, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Farmers get $1.96 billion from new coronavirus program
In the two weeks since the USDA began accepting applications for coronavirus relief, it has paid $1.96 billion to farmers and ranchers through the so-called CFAP2, according to data released on Thursday. The average payment was $20,639 on the 94,959 applications approved for assistance.
U.S. price-fixing investigation tags another Pilgrim’s Pride chief
A federal grand jury indicted former chief executive William Lovette of Pilgrim's Pride, one of the largest U.S. poultry processors, and five other industry executives on charges of conspiring to fix prices and rig bids for broiler chicken products, announced the Justice Department on Wednesday.
Nitrate-tainted drinking water plagues California farmworker towns, study shows
California officials have long known that pollution from the state’s $50 billion farming industry fouls drinking water sources in poor Latino communities where many toil as farmworkers. Now a review of state and federal data shows the problem is getting worse. More than 5 million people in California’s largely Latino communities have nitrate levels in their drinking water at or above federal standards, says an analysis by the Environmental Working Group released Wednesday.<strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Agriculture a key source of nitrous oxide emissions
Farmers around the world are using ever-larger amounts of nitrogen fertilizers to improve yields and harvest more food. But the synthetic fertilizers, along with manure produced by livestock and used as a natural fertilizer, are the "dominant driver" in rising levels of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere, said a paper published Wednesday in Nature.