Meat prices spike, cattle prices fall, and ranchers and lawmakers see market manipulation
Wholesale beef prices have jumped to record levels, as shoppers stockpile meat in response to the global coronavirus pandemic. But this run on beef isn’t helping cattle ranchers. On the contrary, cattle prices have plummeted since January, putting many ranchers on the brink of collapse. “It’s never been worse. The futures market is crashing … and box beef prices are skyrocketing. It’s nuts,” says rancher Mike Callicrate of St. Francis, Kansas. <strong>(No Paywall)</strong>
SNAP tabbed for $15.5 billion increase to handle coronavirus needs
Senate and Trump administration negotiators agreed on a $15.5 billion increase in SNAP funding on Wednesday to pay for growing enrollment due to the coronavirus pandemic, but they rejected a request by anti-hunger groups for higher benefits. The relief package includes $8.8 billion for child nutrition and $450 million for the government to buy and donate food to food banks. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Stung by coronavirus, producers ask government to buy their goods
Fishers, brewers, distillers: What aid do they need to survive Covid-19?
As the spread of the novel coronavirus disrupts business as usual across the country, food producers of all kinds are turning to the government for the help they say they need to stay afloat through the pandemic. From fishermen to produce growers to brewers, companies and organizations are lining up for federal aid as policymakers argue about the coming stimulus for small businesses.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
As coronavirus drives down commodity prices, farm groups ask for aid
By driving down commodity prices, the coronavirus outbreak is draining $50-$90 an acre from the corn and soybean revenue that farmers expect to receive this year, said economists Brent Gloy and David Widmar on Monday. Farm leaders said the counterweight to falling prices and economic uncertainty should be federal support. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Coronavirus darkens income prospects for grain farmers
Higher SNAP benefits backed by House Democrats for coronavirus relief
With the Senate stymied over a coronavirus relief bill, House Democrats drafted a 1,200-page alternative on Monday that called for a 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits and the donation of $300 million of food to food banks. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
With Covid-19, wild-animal markets face new pressures to shutter
The trade in wild animals is coming under increasing pressure to shut down, ever since the source of the Covid-19 pandemic was linked to a "wet market" in Wuhan, where throngs of customers shop for live animals held in cramped quarters, according to FERN's latest story, by Brian Barth. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Farm groups’ goal: Fill ‘USDA’s bank’ with cash for coronavirus aid
The two largest U.S. farm groups want lawmakers to nearly double the funding for "USDA's bank," the Depression-era vehicle for multibillion-dollar Trump tariff payments, and give Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue the power to help farmers and ranchers through the coronavirus outbreak. Commodity prices are down sharply and the head of the FAPRI think tank says farm income is likely to be "significantly lower" than expected due to economic disruptions caused by the virus.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Pick up the phone to talk to USDA
As a precaution against spread of the coronavirus, the USDA's local offices will conduct business by telephone only and farmers will need to make an appointment for the transactions. "USDA field work will continue, with staff practicing appropriate social distancing," said a USDA spokesperson over the weekend.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Boost SNAP benefits by 15 percent to weather coronavirus, says think tank
Just as lawmakers temporarily increased food stamp benefits during the Great Recession of 2008-09, Congress should boost benefits to help poor families cope with the economic downturn that is accompanying efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, said the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on Thursday. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Farmers and food groups innovate to keep operations viable as the coronavirus spreads
As the spread of the coronavirus causes many cities to curtail public gatherings, farmers who sell directly to customers at farmers' markets and through CSAs are coming up with novel solutions at breakneck speed to keep their customers fed and their operations viable. For one farmer, a pool noodle is an essential part of the plan.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
USDA, Labor Department plan would allow guestworkers to shift jobs
To aid farmers worried about an imminent labor shortage, two federal departments said on Thursday that they will help farms find foreign and domestic workers who may be eligible to transfer from one agricultural employer to another. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Increased risk of spring flooding in central and southeastern states
Major to moderate flooding is likely this spring from the northern Plains southward to the Gulf Coast, with the greatest risk in the upper and middle Mississippi River basin, the Missouri River basin, and the Red River of the North, said NOAA on Thursday.
As Senate passes coronavirus relief package, farm groups call for support in next round
The Senate voted on Wednesday to pass an emergency aid package that will, among other provisions, expand funding for nutrition programs as the nation confronts the economic toll of the spreading coronavirus. As the bill heads to President Trump for a likely signature, farm and food groups are urging Congress to include the agriculture sector in forthcoming relief efforts.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
In North Carolina, pandemic prompts farmer cooperation
Even before he knew that city officials in Durham, North Carolina, would be suspending the local farmers’ market, George O’Neal was preparing for disruption. Last Saturday, he stood behind a table piled high with mustard greens and kale, holding a clipboard and taking names for what he hopes will become a model of coronavirus-era collaboration.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
For Mexico’s migrant farmworkers, virus risk may be worth it for what they’ll earn in U.S.
The global pandemic feels distant to 31-year-old Manuel Alejandro Lopez Delgado in his town of some 4,000 people in the state of Sinaloa, along the Gulf of California. There’s been just one confirmed case of coronavirus in the state, and that was four hours away, in the city of Culiacan. But in the next two weeks, Lopez, along with three other workers from his town, will be traveling to the U.S. to work in Washington State. The three-day bus journey will take them to the epicenter of the Covid-19 crisis in America.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Empty shelves will soon be ‘a thing of the past,’ says grocery supply expert
As the novel coronavirus spreads, many people have stocked up on pantry items and paper products in anticipation of hunkering down at home for an extended period, creating temporary shortages of certain products. To better understand the grocery supply chain and how stores are stocked, FERN turned to Dr. Ananth Iyer, a professor of supply chain management at Purdue University and director of the university's Global Supply Chain Management Initiative. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
As schools close, USDA vows to deliver boxes of food to some students in rural America
The Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that it will be delivering boxes of food to children affected by school closures due to the novel coronavirus in rural America. In partnership with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, McLane Global, and PepsiCo, the USDA says it will eventually deliver 1 million meals per week.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
U.S. embassy and consulates in Mexico to shut down, threatening labor supply for American farms
American farmers are bracing for major delays in the arrival of workers through the H-2A visa program after U.S. officials announced late Monday that the embassy in Mexico City and all U.S. consulates in Mexico will close, effective March 18, due to health and safety concerns caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic. Officials at the embassy did not say when the facilities might reopen. The H-2A program brings some 200,000 foreign workers to U.S. farms each year.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>