coronavirus
Perdue gets $20 billion blank check for ag aid in GOP coronavirus plan
Senate Republicans proposed $20 billion in additional aid to agriculture in their new coronavirus package on Monday, leaving it to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to allot the money. At the same time, Republicans decided against an increase in food stamp benefits, a goal of House Democrats. The proposed increase in farm aid came as the USDA released figures showing that it has only spent a little more than 40 percent of the $16 billion that was earmarked for farmers and ranchers in the CARES act. (No paywall)
FERN launches new map and analysis of Covid-19 outbreaks in the food system
Covid-19 cases appear to be slowing at meat plants. But companies aren’t releasing test results.
After many months of surging cases, the number of new Covid-19 infections reported at meatpacking plants appears to have slowed. Yet with limited information from the major meatpackers on new cases at their facilities, advocates say it isn’t clear whether the trend reflects a true decline.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Hog backlog forecast to rise to 2.5 million head by year’s end
Coronavirus safeguards are constraining slaughter capacity at U.S. pork plants, causing the hog backlog to more than double to 2.5 million head by the end of this year, said a pork industry analyst on Monday. Economist Steve Meyer said the pandemic was "by far, the worst financial disaster ever for American hog farmers, who already were in a weakened financial position due to two years of trade retaliation."
Farm, anti-hunger groups try to squeeze into $1-trillion pandemic bill
"Everything's on the table" as Congress sets to work on a new coronavirus relief bill, and most of it will end up in the wastebasket, said Senate Finance chairman Chuck Grassley. Farm groups are pressing for billions of dollars in aid to offset low commodity prices and anti-hunger activists say a temporary increase in SNAP benefits would reduce hunger and stimulate the economy.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Report: Coronavirus worsens food insecurity in the South
Three Southern states — Virginia, Kentucky and Arkansas — are among the eight states nationwide with the lowest SNAP participation rates, says the Food Research and Action Center. The coronavirus pandemic "is exacerbating the already alarming rates of food insecurity in the Southern region," said a FRAC report that recommends expansion of federal nutrition programs, such as SNAP, WIC and school meals, to meet the need.
Poultry to account for half of world increase in meat consumption
Global meat consumption will grow by 12 percent in the coming decade, with lower-cost poultry accounting for half of the increase, said the OECD and FAO on Thursday. Their jointly produced Agricultural Outlook report also said that aquaculture would overtake "capture fisheries" as the leading source of fish worldwide by 2024.
Federal payments soften farm financial stress
Agricultural credit conditions remain weak, but government payments "appear likely to limit the severity of financial stress among farm borrowers in the coming months," said the Federal Reserve in a quarterly report on Thursday. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Online SNAP grocery shopping tainted by ‘manipulative’ tactics, says report
State after state joined a USDA pilot program this spring that allows SNAP participants to buy groceries online as a way to reduce the chance of contracting Covid-19. But now, said a report released Thursday, SNAP shoppers face "an often manipulative and nontransparent grocery marketplace" when they shop via the internet. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Coronavirus damage tops $3.4 billion, says ethanol industry
Gasoline consumption fell precipitously in the spring due to stay-at-home orders and the economic slowdown, cutting ethanol industry revenue by more than $3.4 billion, said the Renewable Fuels Association on Wednesday. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Beef fuels biggest increase in grocery prices in nearly a decade
Pandemic could increase world hunger by one fifth — UN report
The coronavirus pandemic will accelerate the five-year-old rise in world hunger and could add as many as 132 million people this year to the global tally of the hungry, an increase of 19 percent, said five UN agencies in a report on Monday. The pandemic is disrupting the food supply chain while sweeping lockdowns to control the virus are cutting off people from work, said the annual State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.
USDA hasn’t helped small farmers in pandemic, lawmakers say
The USDA has ignored small diversified farms in its $16 billion coronavirus relief program despite specific instructions from Congress to help them, said two U.S. lawmakers on Monday. Wheat growers said they deserved broader coverage, including payments on this year's crop. The USDA has disbursed $5.9 billion since payments began in early June, with $2.6 billion going to cattle producers.
Rural advantages in coronavirus recovery
The coronavirus "dealt an economically devastating hand to nearly the whole country," but job losses were smaller and shutdowns were shorter in rural America, said rural lender CoBank in a quarterly report. "Economic recovery may now favor rural communities for the first time in many years."<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
In pandemic, one in five children are not getting enough to eat, says report
An unprecedented number of U.S. children — 13.9 million — are experiencing food insecurity and did not have sufficient food in late June due to the coronavirus pandemic, said an analysis from the Hamilton Project on Thursday. "This level of need merits a substantial and immediate public investment," said Lauren Bauer, a fellow at the Hamilton Project and author of the analysis. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Apples and potatoes will get coronavirus aid for lost sales
In a series of adjustments to its $16-billion coronavirus relief program, the USDA said on Thursday that apple, potato, and blueberry growers would now qualify for federal payments for sales lost to the pandemic. More than one-third of the money in the program has already been paid in cash to farmers and ranchers. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
CDC updates Covid-19 numbers at meat plants but uses weeks-old data
As of May 31, more than 16,000 meat and poultry processing workers in 23 states had contracted Covid-19, and 86 had died of the disease, said a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Tuesday. Nearly 90 percent of the affected workers were identified as Hispanic, Black, or Asian. According to more up-to-date data, however, the numbers for infected and deceased workers are actually much higher. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
AFBF chief is first U.S. farm group leader with coronavirus
Zippy Duvall, president of the largest U.S. farm group, is quarantining at his Georgia farm while recuperating from the coronavirus, said the American Farm Bureau Federation on Wednesday. Duvall is the first leader of a U.S. farm group known to have the virus. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
After a year of pandemic, food system workers still face risks
Although media reports and public data about Covid-19 cases among food system workers dropped off significantly after a first wave of outbreaks last spring, the virus quietly returned in waves at dozens of plants last year, writes Leah Douglas in FERN's latest story. <strong>No paywall </strong>