Global food prices ease for second month in a row
After reaching record highs for two months in row, the Food Price Index is marginally lower for the second consecutive month, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The latest decline, in May, was led by lower prices for vegetable oils and dairy products.
Slow growth in organic food sales as pandemic fades
After surging nearly 13 percent during the eat-at-home early days of the pandemic, sales of organic food rose by less than 2 percent in 2021, as Americans abandoned pantry loading, said the Organic Trade Association on Thursday. Sales of organic food totaled $57.5 billion last year, a $1 billion increase from 2020.
‘Large supply gaps’ coming, says No. 2 U.S. turkey processor
Bird flu will have a “meaningful impact” on turkey supplies in coming months, said the head of Hormel Foods, the second-largest turkey processor in the country, on Thursday. Chief executive Jim Snee said Hormel anticipated “large supply gaps” for its Jennie-O Turkey Store operations in the months ahead because of flock losses.
Farmers tops in trustworthiness survey
When 1,000 consumers were asked who they trusted in the food system, farmers were the clear winners, said the economists overseeing the new Gardner Food and Agricultural Policy Survey on Thursday. Participants gave farmers an average score of 5.6 on a scale of 1 to 7.
Vilsack: Transform food system with more processors and local marketing
The pandemic exposed the weaknesses of a food system built around large-volume production and national supply chains, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday. As a remedy, he said, the USDA would help independent processors start up or expand their operations and encourage local marketing.
Flights to deliver 680,000 pounds of infant formula
The administration’s Operation Fly Formula will deliver 680,000 pounds of infant formula from makers in Great Britain and Australia beginning on June 9, said the White House on Wednesday. The deliveries would be the equivalent of 8.3 million 8-ounce bottles of formula.
Boom in commodity prices more likely to be transitory than permanent
Electrified by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, commodity prices are sky high, with soybean futures topping $16.80 a bushel and the USDA forecasting the highest-ever farm-gate price for wheat. But high prices for corn, wheat and soybeans are far more likely to revert to their long-term averages than mark the dawn of a new era of permanently higher prices, said five university economists on Tuesday.
Widespread drought in East Africa brings starvation risk
Up to 20 million people in drought-struck parts of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia could face acute food insecurity by September as livestock and crops struggle to survive, said 14 humanitarian and meteorological agencies. Four rainy seasons in a row have failed, a streak not seen in 40 years, and forecasts say there is a concrete risk that the October, November and December rains could fail, too.
Worst U.S. outbreak of bird flu in seven years fades in May
SNAP outlays to surge by 18 percent this year — CBO
Federal spending on food stamps will rise by $24 billion this fiscal year, largely due to USDA's recalculation of the cost of a nutritious diet, said the Congressional Budget Office in a budget outlook that makes projections about the state of the federal budget and economy through 2032. The 18 percent increase in outlays would boost the cost of SNAP to $159 billion.
Trust the farmer, says Vilsack, as senators warn of food shortages
Republican senators slammed the Biden administration on Thursday for high inflation nationwide and said the USDA should free American farmers to plant as much land as they want to avert a potential food crisis. “We’re all hammered with” inflation, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Record U.S. farm exports amid global turmoil
The United States will export a record $191 billion worth of agricultural products this fiscal year as the world scrambles to replace the corn, wheat, and vegetable oil it would normally get from Russia and Ukraine, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday. It would be the second year in a row of record-high farm exports.
Export bans worsen global food crisis, says research group
Despite the experience of food price spikes a decade ago, nations are compounding the disruptions of warfare in the Black Sea region by hoarding their domestic supplies, said the global research group CGIAR.
USDA would reform ‘tournament’ system in poultry production
Poultry farmers would have more protection against abuse by processors under a USDA proposal to revamp the “tournament” system that pits producers against each other in a competition for income, said the Biden administration on Thursday. The administration also announced $200 million in funding to help independent meat processors go into business or expand production.
U.S. files new challenge to Canada’s dairy quotas
Accusing Canada of backsliding on its commitments, the United States requested consultations on Wednesday with its northern neighbor over dairy import quotas that limit American access to the Canadian market. U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai said Canada has expanded its restrictions despite being the loser in a USMCA trade ruling.
USDA raises food inflation forecast for fourth month in a row
Bird flu outbreaks are driving up egg and poultry meat prices far faster than usual, with eggs expected to cost 20 percent more and poultry 9 percent more this year than their 2021 averages, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday.
Group funds half a million acres of cover crops in Midwest
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced $2.6 million in grants on Wednesday to help farmers plant cover crops across 500,000 acres in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, and Minnesota.
Nutrition waivers reduced child hunger, say big school districts
School nutrition officials overwhelmingly agree that USDA waivers reduced child hunger during the pandemic by making meals free to all students, said a report by the antihunger group Food Research and Action Center on Tuesday. FRAC said Congress ought to pass legislation for universal free school meals or extend the USDA waivers, due to expire on June 30, through the 2022-23 school year.
House Ag chairman Scott coasts to nomination
House Agriculture chairman David Scott easily won nomination for his 11th term in Congress from a suburban Atlanta district, defeating three challengers during Georgia's primary elections on Tuesday.
Fragile recovery in monarch butterfly population
The monarch butterfly is imperiled by the loss of food and habitat as well as climate change but an expansion in its winter hibernation area was "a sign of recovery — albeit a fragile one," WWF said in an annual survey.