Three Farm Belt states get a quarter of coronavirus relief money
House panel votes to block two Trump rules restricting SNAP access
Pandemic rages, but USDA’s food box program may end in eight weeks
As it announced contracts for up to $1.47 billion to carry the Farmers to Families Food Box initiative through July and August, the USDA also said the program could end on Sept. 1, or soon afterward, as funding for the food giveaway program runs out. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has highlighted the Food Box as a boon to hungry Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, while the White House opposed a temporary expansion of food-stamp benefits.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
House bill would help meat processors boost facilities, get USDA certification
Ten members of the U.S. House filed a bipartisan bill to provide grants to poultry and red meat processors that want to improve their facilities so they can move to federal inspection and sell their products across state lines. Sponsors include leaders of the House Agriculture Committee and the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees USDA spending.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Report: Covid-19 to worsen food insecurity around globe
The worldwide fight against the coronavirus pandemic will reduce income in countries where food insecurity is already high, leading to increased demand for food aid, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in a quarterly report. "While agricultural production has been comparatively unaffected and supplies of staple foods are reported to be generally ample or stable, income losses due to the measures implemented to contain the spread of the disease and the overall economic downturn are likely to increase the severity and prevalence of food insecurity," said the Crop Prospects and Food Situation report.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Risk of ‘food nationalism’ as coronavirus pandemic sweeps world
The world's grain reserves are large, with a bumper crop on the horizon, but the coronavirus pandemic has already inspired agricultural protectionism in a small number of countries, said analysts in a think tank paper this week. Separately, former Agriculture Undersecretary Catherine Woteki said protectionist policies could spark "food nationalism" at a time when trade could minimize food shortages. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Farmers fall short of corn planting forecast
High yields, low prices may plant the seed of a larger Conservation Reserve
The 2018 farm law allows an additional 3 million acres into the land-idling Conservation Reserve, partly to offset the low market prices that followed the collapse of the commodity boom earlier this decade. Lawmakers may opt for another expansion of the reserve if farmers face mountains of surplus grain and continued low prices, said two University of Illinois economists.
House report calls for major action on climate, lays out ag plan
Hemp groups to push for checkoff program
Two trade groups announced plans to spearhead a discussion across the hemp industry on the creation of a checkoff program to promote industrial hemp, similar to producer-funded checkoffs that boost cotton, milk, and Christmas trees.
World farm subsidies hit $2 billion a day
The 54 leading countries of the world spend roughly $700 billion a year on farm subsidies, equal to 12 percent of gross farm revenues, said the OECD on Tuesday. The average rate of producer support in OECD countries – the industrialized world – is more than double the rate in emerging and developing nations, mostly in Asia, Africa and South America, despite some "convergence" in the past two decades. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Food box misses goal of 40 million deliveries
The Farmers to Families Food Box program, the $3 billion face of the Trump administration's response to US food insecurity during the pandemic, delivered 25 million boxes of food to nonprofit organization such as food banks as of Monday, said the USDA. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Coronavirus adds stress to agricultural finances
The agricultural sector will struggle over the next year because of the coronavirus pandemic, leading some farmers to quit or be forced out of business, said economist Allen Featherstone in a think tank paper released on Monday. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
USDA should stop environmentally risky ‘depopulation’ methods, advocates say
The Department of Agriculture should restrict certain animal disposal methods used by farmers who euthanize herds during the Covid-19 pandemic, and make information about those “depopulation” events public, says a coalition of environmental groups that petitioned the agency Monday.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Obstacles for Fischbach in her campaign to challenge Ag chair Peterson
With an early endorsement from President Trump, former Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach is the GOP favorite to run against House Agriculture chairman Collin Peterson in western Minnesota. But other candidates were loath to clear the way for her at a nominating convention in May and in the upcoming Aug. 11 primary election.
Largest annual increase in grocery prices since 2011
Grocery prices will rise by a higher-than-average 3 percent this year, due largely to the coronavirus-propelled surge in the cost of meat, poultry, and fish at the supermarket, forecast the USDA on Thursday. It would be the largest annual increase since 2011. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Hog backlog on U.S. farms could hit 2 million head
As many as 2 million hogs are backed up on U.S. farms because of coronavirus slowdowns and shutdowns at meatpacking plants, said three economists on Thursday, with the backlog likely to persist into the fall. The oversupply will weigh on market prices unless there is a strong recovery as the economy reopens, they said. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
World soybean production to rise by 8 percent, says grains council
With a rebound in U.S. production, the world soybean crop will be a record 364 million tonnes in 2020/21, up 8 percent from this season, said the International Grains Council on Thursday. Record-setting corn and wheat crops were also forecast for 2020/21.
Senate bill would help farmers get into carbon markets, say backers
Farmers could combine environmental and economic sustainability through practices that lock carbon into the soil, but it's dauntingly difficult to enter the carbon sequestration market and get paid for it, said the leaders of the two largest U.S. farm groups on Wednesday.
Bayer to pay up to $11.3 billion to resolve glyphosate, dicamba litigation
Under the terms of an agreement announced Wednesday, seed and agribusiness giant Bayer will pay up to $10.9 billion to resolve lawsuits that accuse its Roundup herbicide of causing cancer, and an additional $400 million to settle litigation claiming crop damage caused by its dicamba weedkiller from 2015 to 2020.