Biden launches non-traditional Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
The United States and a dozen nations, from Japan in the north to Australia in the south, launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) on Monday, built on common interests in the digital economy, climate change, economic resilience and clean government. "The future of the 21st century economy is going to be largely written in the Indo-Pacific — in our region," said President Biden in Tokyo.
Forest Service halts prescribed burns temporarily
With drought throughout much of the U.S. West, the Forest Service will temporarily stop its use of prescribed burns and conduct a 90-day review of the practice, said Chief Randy Moore. The Forest Service has identified an escaped prescribed fire as the cause of the Hermits Peak Fire in New Mexico, reported the news and opinion site Wildfire Today.
Second load of specialty infant formula to arrive within days
The Biden administration's "Operation Fly Formula" will deliver 114 pallets of specialty infant formula to the United States within days in a rapid follow-up to the first load of 132 pallets on Sunday, said the White House. The flights, arranged through the Pentagon, are intended to ease shortages across the nation.
EPA to propose 2023 ethanol mandate within four months
The trade group Growth Energy sued the EPA last month because it was far behind schedule in setting the ethanol mandate for 2023, the first year the agency has a free hand in drafting the regulation. A consent decree, if approved, would resolve the complaint and oblige the EPA to propose the renewable fuel program by Sept. 16 and finalize it by April 23, 2023.
Formula supply will improve ‘in a matter of days,’ says FDA chief
U.S. infant formula makers are revving up production and the door is open to imported formula, so “we should see improvement in a matter of days” from shortages nationwide, FDA commissioner Robert Califf said Thursday on Capitol Hill. Califf also said he would strengthen food safety procedures at the agency, though key lawmakers argued he was not going far enough.
Farmland values rise alongside strong ag economy
Persistently strong commodity prices in the opening months of the year fueled a sharp growth in farmland values throughout the Midwest and Plains, said a Federal Reserve report on Thursday.
Baby formula industry was primed for disaster long before key factory closed down
The closure of the Similac factory may have lit the fuse for the nationwide shortage, but a combination of government policy, industry market concentration and supply chain issues supplied the powder.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Party-line vote sends livestock reform bill to House floor
The House Agriculture Committee approved legislation on Wednesday to create a special investigator’s office at the Agriculture Department to enforce fair-play laws in the highly concentrated meat industry. Cleared for a House vote on a party-line, 27-21 roll call, the bill, HR 7606, is the strongest competition bill to advance in this session of Congress.
To fight shortage, Biden gives infant formula makers priority for materials
President Biden invoked his executive powers on Wednesday to give infant formula manufacturers first call on ingredients, and announced Operation Fly Formula, which would carry formula from overseas suppliers to the United States. Both steps were aimed at alleviating shortages that followed the shutdown of a large formula plant in Michigan, where FDA inspectors found bacteria that can cause foodborne illness.
Infant formula bills are put on fast track for House vote
House Democratic leaders unveiled a pair of bills on Tuesday to ease infant formula shortages and beef up the FDA office in charge of assuring the products are safe for babies. "People are selling samples on the street. Mothers are watering down formula. Quite frankly, they're desperate," said Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut, sponsor of one of the bills.
House panel approves bill to expand meat processing capacity
Congress would create a loan and guarantee program to expand competition in the meat processing industry under a bill approved by the House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday. The bill would authorize up $20 million a year through 2024 for the loan guarantees.
‘Stay tuned,’ says Vilsack as dairy demands retaliatory tariffs
The United States was "greatly disappointed" by Canada's refusal to allow larger imports of U.S. dairy products despite a USMCA trade ruling, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. Vilsack expressed solidarity with U.S. dairy groups that called for retaliatory tariffs on Canadian goods, telling reporters, "Stay tuned."
Consent decree to clean up and re-start infant formula plant
Abbott Nutrition would hire an outside expert and implement a sanitation plan at its infant formula plant in Michigan as part of returning the plant to production and ending U.S. shortages of formula, said the Justice Department on Monday. The largest U.S. maker of formula, Abbott has said it could resume production within two weeks once it has a federal go-ahead but it could take several weeks for products to reach retailers.
Crop farmers to see $6 billion in disaster aid — USDA
Beginning later this month, farmers across the nation will receive around $6 billion in disaster relief for losses due to catastrophic weather and wildfires, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. The money, part of $10 billion earmarked for agricultural disasters, would be paid through the new Emergency Relief Program (ERP) to offset lower yields and value losses, said the Agriculture Department.
House to vote on infant formula shortage
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will vote this week on emergency legislation to relax some WIC regulations on infant formula, now in short supply, "so that we can get nutrition into the mouths of America's babies." Through WIC, the government buys about half of the infant formula sold in the country.
Biden nominates two for USDA undersecretary posts
President Biden selected two veterans of U.S. agriculture and nutrition policy for sub-cabinet positions at the Agriculture Department. Stacy Dean was nominated to serve as undersecretary for nutrition and Alexis Taylor to be undersecretary for trade, announced the White House. Dean has been the senior official overseeing USDA nutrition programs since Biden took office and Taylor has been Oregon's agriculture director since December 2016.
Farmland values soar more than 20 percent in Midwest and Plains
Strong agricultural income and favorable interest rates are fueling a nonstop climb in farmland values in the Plains and Midwest, said farm bankers in quarterly surveys by the Kansas City and Chicago Federal Reserve banks. The Chicago Fed said farmland values in the opening months of this year were 23 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2021; the increase was 24 percent for non-irrigated land in the Plains.
Meatpackers drafted Trump order on meat plants during Covid-19
Facing pressure from local health officials over conditions in their plants, meatpacking companies "drafted and pitched an executive order to the Trump White House" to keep slaughterhouses open during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, said a congressional staff report on Thursday. When President Trump issued an order that adopted the industry position, meatpackers exaggerated its scope.
Russian wheat booms, while world draws down stockpiles
U.S. cuts red tape to increase food production, fill Ukraine gap, says Biden
Jeff O’Connor gave President Biden a firsthand introduction to double-cropping on his 800-acre Illinois farm on Wednesday and agreed with the president that America can help fill the gap in global food supplies created by the war in Ukraine. “We have the ability to raise two crops in one growing season while simultaneously providing conservation benefits,” said O’Connor. “The farming community stands ready to maximize production, which we do so well, in this time of world need.”