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Voracious U.S. demand means biggest food and ag trade deficit ever
Americans are consuming ever-larger amounts of imported fruits, vegetables, wine, alcohol, coffee, and beef, an appetite that will drive the food and ag trade deficit to a record $45.5 billion this fiscal year, estimated the Agriculture Department on Tuesday. Imports would be a sizzling $9.3 billion larger than in just-ended fiscal 2024, while food and ag exports decline for the third year in a row due to lower commodity prices.
Bird flu hits California farms hard in November
The avian influenza virus was identified in 100 dairy herds in the past week and in two dozen domestic flocks with more than 3 million birds so far this month in California, the U.S. hot spot for the viral disease, said state and USDA data on Tuesday. The state accounts for two-thirds of the 650 infected dairy herds in the nation.
Today’s quick hits, Nov. 27, 2024
Ruling on H-2A workers: In a ruling that affects Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Alabama, a federal district judge blocked a Biden administration expansion of protections for agricultural guest workers; the change was blocked in 17 other states by a different judge in August. (Wisconsin …
Three-way Democratic race at House Agriculture Committee
Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig launched a campaign on Monday to be elected the Democratic leader on the House Agriculture Committee, joining two other candidates, California Rep. Jim Costa and Georgia Rep. David Scott, currently the ranking member. Costa and Craig say they will defend SNAP and climate funding in the new farm bill and carry a Democratic message to rural America, a weak spot for the party.
‘Keep calm and gobble on’
In his final turn at a 77-year-old holiday tradition, President Biden pardoned Peach and Blossom, two Thanksgiving turkeys presented to the White House by U.S. turkey growers, on Monday. "They tell me there's 2,500 people here today looking for a pardon," chuckled the president, who will leave office in two months.
Today’s quick hits, Nov. 26, 2024
Low grocery inflation: Food-at-home prices will rise by 1.2 percent this year, the lowest grocery inflation rate since 0.9 percent in 2019, and by 1.6 percent in the new year, with chicken, fish, eggs, fats and oils, and bakery products costing more, said USDA economists. (USDA) Trump vows high …
Trump chooses former White House adviser to become Agriculture secretary
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Brooke Rollins, director of his Domestic Policy Council during his first term, for Agriculture secretary, saying she would "spearhead the effort to protect American farmers, who are truly the backbone of our country." Rollins is chief executive of a think tank that has advocated stronger work requirements for SNAP recipients. She would be the second woman to lead USDA.
California finds bird flu virus in raw milk
Public health officials in California's Silicon Valley said tests found the bird flu virus in a container of raw milk purchased at a local store and warned consumers on Sunday not to consume the milk. The supplier, Raw Farm, of Fresno County, issued a recall of the batch of milk that was involved.
Today’s quick hits, Nov. 25, 2024
Chavez-DeRemer for Labor: President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a Republican member of the House Agriculture Committee defeated for re-election, to serve as Labor secretary. (NPR) Screwworm found in Mexico: The USDA said it would restrict movement …
A note from Chuck
Half a century ago, in 1973, I entered the news business as a reporter for a small weekly paper in Missouri. And now, it’s time to leave the party. I will continue my reporting here at Ag Insider through the end of the current Congressional session, at which time Ag Insider will be put to bed one last time. The final edition will go out Monday, December 23.
Farm income declines in northern Plains, say ag bankers
The two-year decline in commodity prices drove down farm income in the northern Plains this summer, ag bankers said overwhelmingly in a survey by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, and they expect income to fall again this winter. Farmers have cut back on major purchases and loan demand is up, the bankers said.
Bird flu cuts into egg production
Fewer table eggs will be available for home consumption this year because of continuing outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza at U.S. egg farms this fall, said USDA economists, who estimated that table egg production this year would be 1 percent less than in 2023.
Today’s quick hits, November 22, 2024
Deere income down sharply: Net income at Deere and Co., the world’s largest farm equipment maker, fell to $7.1 billion for fiscal 2024, a drop of $3 billion from the previous year. (Deere) Duarte holds slim lead: Rep. John Duarte, a Republican member of the House Agriculture Committee, has a …
Farmers need ‘significant’ federal help to survive drop in income, say senators
“One in five farmers could be pushed out of business by the sharp drop in farm income this year,” said Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith at a Senate hearing on disaster aid, and Arkansas Sen. John Boozman asked how rural America could survive the combination of high production costs and lower commodity prices without “significant help” from the government.
Costa runs against Scott to be Democratic leader on House Ag
California Rep. Jim Costa said on Wednesday that he was seeking party support to become the Democratic leader on the House Agriculture Committee, a post now held by Georgia Rep. David Scott. The race would be a rematch of 2020, when Scott became the first Black chairman of the committee.
Today’s quick hits, November 21, 2024
Thanksgiving dinner costs less: The cost of ingredients for a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner has dropped for the second year in a row, to an average of $5.80 per person, down from $6.12 in 2023 and $6.41 in 2022. (American Farm Bureau Federation) Average ‘dead zone’: The low-oxygen dead zone …
California child with no known contact with infected animals tests positive for bird flu
A child in populous Alameda County tested positive for the avian influenza virus and was recovering at home from mild upper respiratory symptoms, said California public health officials on Tuesday. The child had no known contact with an infected animal and would be the second such case in the United States this year.
Disaster package asks $24 billion for agriculture
One fourth of the $99 billion in disaster aid requested by President Biden would be funneled through the USDA, with the bulk of the $24 billion devoted to offsetting lost crop production and reduced quality of crops. Agriculture deputy secretary Xochitl Torres Small was to testify in support of the request before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.
Today’s quick hits, Nov. 20, 2024
Back issues sideline Scott: The senior Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. David Scott of Georgia, is being treated for back ailments in the Atlanta area and expects to return to Congress after Thanksgiving. (Atlanta Journal Constitution) USDA aids specialty crops: Agriculture …