Meat plants hit worse than thought (USA Today): Coronavirus infection rates in the regions housing the 150 largest U.S. meat processing plants are higher than in 75 percent of U.S. counties, prompting “fears … that meat packing plants will become the next disaster zones.”
Piles of potatoes (MYNorthwest): When schools and restaurants shut down due to the coronavirus, it eliminated a market for a billion pounds of potatoes grown on farms in Washington State. So far growers haven’t found alternative buyers.
Half as much ethanol as year ago (EIA): Production of fuel ethanol fell to 563,000 barrels a day in the week ended April 17, just 53 percent of the output one year ago and, for the third week in a row, the lowest total since record keeping began in 2010.
China buys $61 million of U.S. soy (USDA): In the second major sale of U.S. soybeans for delivery to China since the signing of the “phase one” trade agreement, private exporters report the sale of 198,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans, worth $61 million, to China before Sept. 1.
Bunge sells grain elevators (Reuters): Grain trader Bunge Ltd. sold 35 grain elevators in the U.S. interior to Zen-Noh Grain Corp., although Bunge will retain ownership of export terminals on the Mississippi River and Puget Sound.
Trump to cut regulations during pandemic (Washington Post): Senior administration officials are looking to repeal or suspend federal regulations, including those concerning environmental and labor policy, worker safety, and healthcare, on grounds that less regulation will allow the economy to rebound more rapidly when the pandemic ends.