‘Robust’ price discovery: Cattle market economists generally agree price discovery is still robust although less than a third of cattle are sold on the cash market, said a Texas A&M report on concentration, pricing and processing capacity among meatpackers. (Agricultural and Food Policy Center)
Rural vaccinations decline: The rate of new vaccinations in rural areas against Covid-19 fell by one-fifth last week after rising for five out of the previous six weeks; 42 percent of rural Americans are fully vaccinated, compared with 54 percent of urban residents. (Daily Yonder)
Strawberry-picking robot: Kubota and Yamaha have invested in the U.S.-based start-up company Advanced Farm Technologies that is developing a robot for harvesting strawberries. (The Packer)
Urban ag awards: The USDA awarded more than $6.6 million in grants and cooperative agreements to support urban agriculture projects from Alabama and Connecticut to Hawaii. (Farm Service Agency)
Doing good at GrowGood: The 1.5-acre GrowGood urban farm, 20 minutes southeast of downtown Los Angeles, is tilled by residents of the Salvation Army shelter across the street “and it feeds them wth food grown right outside their door.” (Modern Farmer)