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A pause in world hunger, but elimination is unlikely

After steep increases due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the global hunger total of as many as 783 million people is relatively stable and the goal of ending hunger by the end of the decade will be increasingly difficult to reach, said the annual United Nations report on world hunger.

Food inflation rate is lowest in 20 months

Led by lower meat, poultry, fish, and egg prices, the food inflation rate fell to 5.7 percent in June, the lowest annualized figure since October 2021, said the Labor Department on Wednesday.

How mushrooms can help prevent forest fires

In an effort to prevent forest fires, the federal government has committed nearly $5 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to thinning forests on about 50 million Western acres over the next 10 years. But, as Stephen Robert Miller explains in FERN's latest article, published with The Washington Post, that thinning creates piles of sticks, chips, and other debris—called "slash"—that creates its own fire risk. 

Playing corn ethanol as Trump card in Iowa

Former president Donald Trump, ignoring his own mixed record on biofuels, said at a rally in western Iowa that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his most viable challenger for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, "totally despises Iowa ethanol and ethanol generally."

USDA launches $2.2 billion program to remedy discrimination

The Agriculture Department is taking applications from farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners for a share of a $2.2 billion fund to compensate victims of discrimination in USDA farm lending programs.

Wealthy nations are losing their taste for meat, says report

For decades, the rule of thumb has been that as a country’s income rises, so does its meat consumption. Now a turning point may be at hand among high-income nations, especially in Western Europe and North America, where per capita consumption of meat is projected to decline in the coming decade, said a report on the world agricultural outlook on Thursday.

Report: Retooling USDA programs for climate mitigation is ‘politically fraught’

The USDA could use its biggest land stewardship programs — the Conservation Reserve, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and the Conservation Stewardship Program — to combat climate change, wrote University of Maryland professor Erik Lichtenberg in a think tank report. But to make the programs as effective as possible, he said, Congress would have to reorient them, a risky move that could cut into their support.

Farmers skeptical of farm bill as Prop 12 slayer

Large-scale farmers and ranchers are slightly more optimistic than they were last month that Congress will pass a farm bill this year, but they doubt it will be a vehicle for overturning California’s Proposition 12 animal welfare law, said the Ag Economy Barometer on Wednesday. The pork industry is seeking a legislative override of Prop 12 after losing a Supreme Court challenge to the voter-approved law in May.

‘Forever chemicals’ in 45 percent of U.S. tap water

Researchers conducting the first broadscale test for so-called PFAS in private and public water supplies found the so-called forever chemicals in 45 percent of the nation’s tap water, said the U.S. Geological Survey on Wednesday. The agency said PFAS were far more likely to be detected in tap water in urban areas than in rural America.

SNAP error rate soars to highest in years

The error rate of SNAP over- and underpayments — 11.54 percent — "is unacceptable and threatens the integrity of the program," said the leaders of the Senate and House Agriculture committees, who oversee food stamps. The error rate in fiscal 2022 was the highest in years and 4 points higher than before the pandemic.

Biggest-ever corn crop is possible, thanks to a stampede into corn

U.S. farmers planted far more corn than expected — so much more that corn production could jump by a startling 14 percent from last year for the biggest harvest ever, according to USDA data. A bin-busting crop could weigh on market prices for months.

A remote Alaskan town confronts historic collapse of crab fishery

On the calendar, week of July 5, 2023

USDA awards $115 million to boost independent meat processors

On Thursday, as part of an administration initiative to increase independent meat processing capacity, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $38 million in grants to processors and $77 million to intermediary lenders to finance the start-up, expansion, or operation of independent processing facilities. The result will be a stronger food supply chain and more competition in the meat processing sector, said the administration.

Ag, mining, construction groups ask for new wetlands rule in 45 days

Although the Biden administration says it will update its “waters of the United States” regulation by Sept. 1, it might have to act a bit faster than that under a motion filed in federal court in Texas. The motion asks the court to discard the Biden regulation entirely “and request that the agencies promulgate a new rule within 45 days.”

EPA says it will revise wetlands rule in line with Supreme Court decision

The Biden administration intends to update its “waters of the United States” regulation, which determines the upstream reach of anti-pollution laws, by Sept. 1, said the EPA on Wednesday. The revised WOTUS rule will reflect the recent Supreme Court decision that reduces federal protection of wetlands, it said.

Tropical forest losses worsen, says WRI

Although global leaders agreed in 2021 to halve forest losses within a decade, 4.1 million hectares (15,830 square miles) of tropical primary forest were lost last year, said the World Resources Institute on Wednesday. “The trend is moving in the wrong direction,” said the environmental group.

‘Early stages’ of farm bill negotiations with House, says Boozman

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell all but ruled out new funding for the 2023 farm bill on Tuesday while the lead Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee said "we're in the early stages of negotiations with the House" on the legislation. Neither committee has taken a step in public to write a successor to the 2018 farm law, which expires on September 30.

Fewer students eat school meals as pandemic waiver expires

School lunch participation dropped by 7 percent in some of the largest U.S. districts with the expiration of a waiver allowing free meals for all students during the pandemic, said an anti-hunger group on Wednesday. The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) said Congress should enact legislation making meals free for all students and end the decades-old system of charging for meals based on household income.

Califf broadens scope of food regulation revamp at FDA

Seizing a "once in a generation opportunity," FDA commissioner Robert Califf said on Tuesday he would put more of the agency's activities under the control of a yet-to-be-named deputy commissioner for human foods. Califf proposed additional changes in the Office of Regulatory Affairs, one of the components of the new Human Foods Program.