coronavirus pandemic
Ethanol blend rate sets record amid pandemic slump in usage
The average gallon of gasoline sold during 2020 was 10.23 percent ethanol, the highest blend rate ever, said the Renewable Fuels Association. At the same time, 12.63 billion gallons of the biofuel were mixed into gasoline, the smallest amount in 11 years, declining in tandem with the reduction in travel and fuel sales that accompanied the pandemic, said the trade group.
Economic recovery will be stronger than expected, says CBO
OSHA strengthens workplace guidelines against Covid-19
The Labor Department, in issuing stronger worker-safety guidelines called on employers to conduct a hazard analysis and implement measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus on the job. The recommendations include the use of face masks and reconfiguring work spaces so workers are at least six feet apart.
Biden: U.S. will consider emergency rule to protect workers from coronavirus
The government's worker-safety agency "has been prevented from using its full range of tools to protect workers from Covid-19," said President-elect Biden on the 50th anniversary of creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. "The number of OSHA inspectors is at its lowest level since 1975, while millions of essential workers are working to keep the country functioning through the pandemic."
Tyson Foods fires seven in Covid betting pool
Tyson Foods said on Wednesday that it had fired seven management employees at its hog slaughter plant in Waterloo, Iowa, following allegations that plant manager Tom Hart had organized a betting pool over how many of the plant's employees would become ill with Covid-19.
Good year for grain-farm income despite pandemic
The typical Midwestern grain farm could generate more than twice as much income this year as in 2019, thanks to higher market prices and large federal payments, said two University of Illinois analysts. The outlook for the new year is much more dour, especially without new stopgap payments.
Keep food flowing during pandemic, FAO urges G20
World leaders must remain vigilant to keep food trade flowing during the pandemic and to continue using trade as a lever to improve farm income and productivity, said the head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization on Sunday. Speaking during the Group of 20 summit held online, director general Qu Dongyu said, "It is essential for the G20 to keep working on preventing this health crisis from becoming a global food crisis."
U.S. and global ag trade resilient in face of pandemic
Partly because food is indispensable, agricultural trade has been remarkably robust despite the disruptions of the pandemic, said Ohio State professor Ian Sheldon during the university's annual agricultural outlook conference. Inventories of key staples are at high levels worldwide so "there's no reason why a health crisis turns into a global food crisis," he said.