Food inflation’s ‘remarkably small’ bite and consumer perception
Americans are spending a greater share of their income on food than they did before the pandemic, but the increase is less dramatic than some commentators are making it appear in an election year, said two think tank analysts on Wednesday. Food is the second-largest consumer expense, accounting for about 13.4 cents of the consumer dollar.
Water stress is growing risk for world’s crops, says think tank
One-quarter of the world’s crops, from bananas and plantains to rice, wheat, corn, and soybeans, are grown in areas where the water supply is highly stressed or highly variable, said the World Resources Institute on Wednesday. Rice, wheat, and corn, three of the most important crops, are particularly vulnerable, it said.
‘We will have rural America’s back,’ Walz tells farm crowd
Wearing a red and black plaid jacket and a "Minnesota Grown" ball cap, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appealed for rural votes on a farm in northwestern Pennsylvania on Tuesday. "We've got a plan for rural America that's specific," with initiatives to recruit more health care professionals, improve internet access, and bolster farm income, he said, while former president Donald Trump would disrupt the economy with high tariffs.
Producers in Southeast to get $234 million for hurricane wind losses
Agricultural producers in more than 200 counties in six Southeastern states will receive nearly $234 million for wind losses sustained during Hurricane Helene, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday. Crop insurance companies were expected to pay the indemnities within 30 days.
Bird flu: 20 people ill, 300 herds infected since March
In the nearly seven months since bird flu was identified in dairy cattle in Texas, the virus has infected 20 people — all but one of them livestock workers — and been found in 300 herds in 14 states from North Carolina to California. "The epidemiology of the situation continues to suggest sporadic instances of animal-to-human spread," rather than the virus gaining power to spread among people, said the Centers for Disease Control.
Hurricane slashes Georgia cotton crop by 20 percent
High winds and heavy rains from Hurricane Helene destroyed one-fifth of the cotton crop in Georgia, the second-largest cotton state in the nation, said the USDA's monthly Crop Production report. The USDA estimated that growers would harvest 1.65 million bales of cotton weighing 480 pounds each, down by 400,000 bales from a pre-hurricane estimate.
Sales of antimicrobials for use in livestock are second lowest in a decade, says FDA
Drugmakers sold 24 million pounds of antimicrobials for use in food-bearing animals last year, a slight decline from the previous year and the second-lowest total in a decade, said the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday. Sales have declined sharply since the FDA shut down using the drugs to encourage weight gain in cattle, hogs, chickens, and turkeys.
Land values rise while farm income shrinks in northern Plains
Continuing a four-year trend, land values rose during the growing season in the northern Plains, despite financial tightening in the farm sector, said ag bankers in a quarterly survey by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank.
Five California farmworkers have mild cases of bird flu, says state
On the same day the CDC confirmed the third human case of bird flu in California, state officials said Wednesday that they had identified two more possible infections, also farmworkers in the Central Valley. In less than six weeks, California has become the U.S. hot spot for bird flu, with one-third of all the infected dairy herds in the country and all of the human cases since Sept. 6.
Americans are frequent users of food ordering apps
One out of three Americans say they use a food ordering app at least once a week, according to a Purdue University poll released on Wednesday. Another third of respondents say they use the apps less frequently, sometimes letting weeks go by between uses, while 36 percent say they have never used the technology.
Odds favor a new farm bill by end of year, says Vilsack
Time is running out for Congress to agree on the new farm bill, now a year overdue, but a "common sense, reasonable, practical" package is still possible, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday, declaring himself an optimist. "I think there's better odds than not that we get it done," he said at a White House conference.
Fewer students in the school lunch line
Over the decade ending in fiscal 2019, before the pandemic, student participation in the school lunch program fell by 7 percent, to an average of 29.6 million meals a day, said a USDA report on the program. In enrollment and cost, school lunch is the nation's second-largest public nutrition program, behind SNAP, and operates in around 100,000 schools.
Distressed borrowers get $250 million in USDA assistance
Some 4,650 financially distressed farmers who owe money on USDA direct and guaranteed loans will share $250 million in payments from the government, said the Agriculture Department on Monday. With the assistance, "more than 4,600 producers across the country will see another production season," said Zach Ducheneaux, Farm Service Agency administrator.
Trump says Democrats will take away your hamburgers. He’s the one who might.
In FERN's latest story, published with The New York Times, reporter Ted Genoways explains how Donald Trump's vow to deport millions of immigrants if he is re-elected would decimate the meatpacking industry's workforce.
California becomes bird flu leader with 82 infected herds
Just five weeks after its first outbreak of bird flu in dairy cattle, California has more affected herds than any other state. According to a USDA database, California has 82 infected herds, an increase of 26 herds in two days. The California Department of Public Health said a third human case of bird flu was identified in the Central Valley; two other cases were confirmed there last week.
Hurricane Helene wallops Georgia cotton crop
Three out of every 10 acres of cotton in Georgia, the No. 2 cotton-growing state in the country, was in poor or very poor condition following Hurricane Helene, said the USDA on Monday. Before the hurricane, just one in 10 acres fell into those categories in the weekly Crop Progress report and 59 percent were in good or excellent condition, compared to 34 percent now.
USDA: slowdown in detections suggests bird flu is being contained in cattle
Although California reported outbreaks of bird flu in 12 dairy herds last week, most states have gone weeks without new cases being discovered, including those with high levels of scrutiny, according to USDA data. Agriculture deputy undersecretary Eric Deeble cited Colorado and Michigan as examples of the tailing off of infections and said during a multi-agency teleconference that "this decrease gives us confidence" of eliminating the virus in dairy cattle by isolating herds. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
War devastates agriculture in Gaza
Two-thirds of the cropland in the Gaza Strip has been damaged by shelling, razing, and vehicle traffic since armed conflict began a year ago in the territory, said two UN agencies. The escalating agricultural damage exacerbated a food shortage, said the Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN Satellite Center.
California dairy worker has bird flu, first in the state
A dairy farm worker in California’s Central Valley with mild symptoms tested positive for the bird flu virus — the first case in the state and the 16th in the nation this year — said the California Department of Public Health on Thursday. The worker was being treated with antiviral medication and was staying home to recover.
Agriculture losses from Helene are significant, says Vilsack
The USDA will work with farmers and rural communities to help them recover from “significant” losses caused by Hurricane Helene, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday. As an example, he said, “We’re working with crop insurance companies now to expedite payments so farmers will receive help in November, if not sooner.”