Unfair fertilizer subsidies: After a court-ordered review, the U.S. International Trade Commission reaffirmed its 2021 decision that domestic fertilizer producers are harmed by imports of phosphate fertilizer subsidized by Morocco and Russia. (ITC)
River ran dry legally: Several miles of the Merced River in California ran dry for four months in 2022, apparently due to farmers legally drawing irrigation water in an episode that pits the state’s system of water rights with its drought controls. (New York Times)
Meat inflation surges, slumps: Prices for pork, poultry, dairy, and eggs climbed faster than the overall U.S. inflation rate in 2022, but the surge cooled faster in 2023 than the slowdown in inflation economy-wide. (USDA)
Timely land reports needed: The USDA needs to improve its system of tracking foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land “and developing a real-time data system would help,” said the Government Accountability Office. (GAO)