Highest SNAP participation rate: SNAP reached its highest participation rate, with 88 percent of eligible people enrolled in 2022, since the USDA began estimating participation nearly 50 years ago. The rural participation rate was 94 percent. (USDA)
Record global soy crop: World soybean production will surge 7 percent, to a record 421 million metric tons in 2024/25, with exports also the highest ever, at 179 million tons, “including another season of above-average deliveries to China.” (International Grains Council)
Layoffs at Deere: Equipment maker Deere & Co. said it will lay off 287 workers, effective Jan. 3, at three of its facilities in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa due to reduced demand for its agricultural products in a “weakening farm economy.” (WQAD-TV)
Funding for Gevo: Renewable fuel company Gevo Inc. said it had received a conditional commitment of a $1.46 billion Energy Department loan guarantee for an alcohol-to-jet fuel plant in South Dakota that would produce 60 million gallons a year of net-zero aviation fuel. (Gevo)
Dead-horse moratorium: Because of the risk of wildfires during a dry spell, rangers in Shoshone National Forest in northwestern Wyoming have temporarily stopped the practice of using explosives to dispose of dead horses. (Guardian)