Archive Search
10583 Results | Most Recent

Americans continued to eat out while filling the pantry when Covid hit

Americans flooded the supermarket when the pandemic hit in early 2020, creating well-documented spot shortages of staples. But they also patronized restaurants at a steady rate in the early weeks, according to a USDA analysis of sales data, suggesting families at first were stocking up for an uncertain future rather than actually eating at home.

After roller-coaster ride, food prices are back at starting point

Global food prices skyrocketed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February, but they have returned to earth, said the FAO Food Price Index, based on monthly changes in a basket of food commodities.

With eye on second-generation biofuels, EPA proposes 10 percent increase in RFS

The EPA proposed a 10 percent increase, mostly reserved for cleaner-burning “advanced” biofuels, over three years in the federal mandate to mix biofuels into the U.S. gasoline supply, and said it would expand the Renewable Fuel Standard to include electricity generated from biogas and used in electric vehicles. The proposal, announced Thursday, would mean greater use of E15 and other blends of corn ethanol above the traditional 10 percent, said ethanol groups.

Farm income jumps 14 percent to record high

High commodity prices, due in part to warfare in Ukraine, will propel U.S. net farm income to a record $160.5 billion this year, despite a steep climb in expenses, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday. Farm income, a gauge of profitability, would be 14 percent higher than last year.

Paid sick leave an issue as rail shutdown bill advances to Senate

President Biden urged the Senate to vote by the end of the week to avert a nationwide rail freight shutdown that would wound the U.S. economy. On a bipartisan roll call, the House passed legislation on Wednesday to impose a contract on railroad labor unions. The so-called tentative agreement was reached in negotiations aided by the administration.

Report: Research is key to thwarting climate impact on agriculture

The global demand for food is rising at the same time that climate change is affecting agricultural production, especially in developing nations, said a new report that calls for increased funding of agricultural research and extension programs to boost productivity on smallholder farms.

USDA: As the world economy slows, so will U.S. farm exports

U.S. farm exports will fall back to $190 billion this fiscal year, a drop of 4 percent from the record set in just-ended fiscal 2022, as economic growth slows in most countries, forecast the Agriculture Department on Tuesday. Soybeans, the No. 1 ag export, as well as cotton and corn would see the largest declines, jointly falling by 7 percent.

Report: Fight for $15 movement tackles racial wealth gap

In 2012, a group of 200 fast-food workers walked off the job in New York City and demanded a $15 hourly wage and a union. In the decade since, the “Fight for $15,” as the movement came to be called, has secured higher wages for more than 26 million workers, lowered the racial wealth gap in many states and pumped more than $87 billion into local economies, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Employment Law Project (NELP).

Farm bill priorities: More stewardship, less reliance on subsidies

The 2023 farm bill should eliminate wasteful subsidies to the biggest farmers and landowners in favor of programs that reach more producers at a lower cost, said a coalition of budget hawks, a consumer group and a small farm advocate in a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday.

U.S. disaster payments are needed, say organic livestock producers

Abnormally high feed costs, partly the result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, are ruining organic livestock producers and federal relief payments are vital to keep farmers in business, said organic trade groups and businesses. "A perfect storm of trade disruptions, international conflicts and acute drought conditions has created a situation no farmer could have planned for or foreseen," said the 13 groups in a letter to lawmakers released on Monday.

‘Golden rice’ production to expand in the Philippines

Farmers in the Philippine province of Antique reaped 67 tonnes of so-called golden rice from 17 fields in the first "substantial" harvest of the GMO variety that contains beta-carotene, which is used by the body to create vitamin A. Cultivation will expand to an additional 17 provinces in the next step of development and testing of the rice, said ETH Zurich, a science and technology university in Switzerland and a financial backer of golden rice, on Monday.

Farmland values gallop higher despite interest rate increases

Strong commodity prices are creating opportunities for U.S. farmers to profit despite the risks posed by drought and higher production costs, said the Ag Finance Update by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Farmland prices surged an average of 20 percent in the Farm Belt during the summer as buyers shrugged off sharply higher interest rates.

Bird flu losses break record

A record 50.54 million birds in domestic flocks have died of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or were culled to prevent spread of the viral disease since February, according to USDA data.

In California’s Central Valley, Valadao prevails in race for Congress

California dairy farmer David Valadao, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump, defeated Democratic state legislator Rudy Salas for a fifth term in the House representing the agriculture-rich Central Valley, according to unofficial results. The victory expanded the GOP majority in the upcoming session to 219 seats — a one-vote cushion — with four races yet to be decided.

Oil and biofuel groups agree on year-round E15

‘No fowl play’ as Biden pardons Thanksgiving turkeys

In a traditional moment of White House whimsy ahead of Thanksgiving, President Biden pardoned tom turkeys "Chocolate" and "Chip" on Monday. An outbreak of bird flu has driven up turkey prices and crimped supplies for the holiday season.

After poor start, little improvement in winter wheat

The winter wheat crop was planted amid drought in the Plains and, for the third week in a row, remains in poor shape, said the weekly Crop Progress report on Monday. Winter wheat accounts for the bulk of U.S. wheat production.

Farm bill proposal: Strengthen subsidy limits, boost land stewardship

With its toothless payment limits, the U.S. farm program directs billions of dollars a year to the largest and wealthiest farmers in America while struggling family farmers often are overlooked, said the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

Why America’s food-security crisis is also a water-security crisis

An estimated 2.2 million people in America are water-insecure, and that's almost certainly a huge undercount, explains Lela Nargi in FERN's latest story. Yet the issue "is not even on most public health professionals’ radar, although recent water disasters in Flint, Michigan, and Jackson, Mississippi, are starting to change that."

On social media, universal free school lunch is popular

Far more people on social media support free meals for all public school students than oppose it, 43 percent vs. 3 percent, according to an analysis by Impact Social, an online monitoring company, in collaboration with the food policy publication Food Fix.