Today’s quick hits, December 22, 2023

Grocery deflation next year: Aided by declines in pork, eggs, dairy, and processed fruits and vegetables, grocery prices in 2024 will be 0.6 percentage points lower than this year for the first year-over-year drop in food-at-home prices since 2017, said economists. (USDA)

Wind farms and property values: When a wind farm project is announced, property values on nearby land decline by an average of 11 percent, but those values recover after a few years of operation, says a paper in the journal Energy Policy. (Inside Climate News)

Lawsuits allege illegal ranching: Officials in the state of Rondonia, in western Brazil, are suing JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, and three other meatpackers for allegedly buying cattle raised illegally in an Amazon preserve. (Associated Press)

Water limits in Nebraska: Unlike some states, Nebraska does not treat water as a property right, so farmland owners can face restrictions on water use. In some areas, that could mean limits on irrigated acreage. (Flatwater Free Press)

Maui encourages agriculture: The Maui County Council, looking to encourage the active use of fallow farmland on the Hawaiian island, passed a bill reducing property taxes on farmed land. (Maui Now)