pandemic
Beef fuels biggest increase in grocery prices in nearly a decade
Pandemic rages, but USDA’s food box program may end in eight weeks
As it announced contracts for up to $1.47 billion to carry the Farmers to Families Food Box initiative through July and August, the USDA also said the program could end on Sept. 1, or soon afterward, as funding for the food giveaway program runs out. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has highlighted the Food Box as a boon to hungry Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, while the White House opposed a temporary expansion of food-stamp benefits.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Farmers fall short of corn planting forecast
USDA should stop environmentally risky ‘depopulation’ methods, advocates say
The Department of Agriculture should restrict certain animal disposal methods used by farmers who euthanize herds during the Covid-19 pandemic, and make information about those “depopulation” events public, says a coalition of environmental groups that petitioned the agency Monday.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
A grassroots push for higher SNAP benefits
Coronavirus pay raise proposed for farmworkers
Think tank proposes dramatic expansion of conservation easements
Record USDA support flowing, but farmers say more federal assistance will be needed
Farmers markets fought to stay open during the pandemic. Now many can’t make ends meet.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, farmers market advocates successfully argued for markets across the country to continue operating as essential businesses. Yet as the pandemic stretches into its third month, many markets face existential budget shortfalls as the public health emergency keeps shoppers home and raises their operating costs.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Trump administration seeks overhaul of fishing industry with new executive order
As the coronavirus pandemic ravages the meatpacking sector, the Trump administration late last week made a major announcement about another essential food industry: seafood. With a late-afternoon executive order, the administration laid out a pathway for the approval of ocean aquaculture in federal waters, a controversial departure from existing policy that could reshape the country’s seafood production.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Coronavirus pummels farmer confidence for second month
A majority of large farmers and ranchers expect worse financial performance on their farms this year than in 2019, nearly twice as many as before the coronavirus became pandemic and mitigation efforts sparked an economic slowdown, said a Purdue University poll released on Tuesday. Purdue's Ag Economy barometer, a monthly gauge of farmer confidence, fell sharply for the second month in a row, to its lowest reading since October 2016.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
As craft beer struggles amid pandemic, so do barley farmers and malthouses
With much of the country under stay-at-home orders, the craft beer sector has seen a steep decline in sales. The consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic could be existential not only for this newly robust market and its thousands of employees but also for the malthouses and barley farmers whose ingredients are the building blocks of beer. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Two more states and D.C. are approved for online SNAP grocery purchases
SNAP recipients in West Virginia, North Carolina and the District of Columbia soon will be able to purchase groceries online as part of a pilot initiated a year ago to test the idea, said the USDA. With the approvals, 39 percent of SNAP recipients are in a state that is part of the pilot. Interest in the pilot has risen with concerns about limiting exposure to the coronavirus.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Empty shelves will soon be ‘a thing of the past,’ says grocery supply expert
As the novel coronavirus spreads, many people have stocked up on pantry items and paper products in anticipation of hunkering down at home for an extended period, creating temporary shortages of certain products. To better understand the grocery supply chain and how stores are stocked, FERN turned to Dr. Ananth Iyer, a professor of supply chain management at Purdue University and director of the university's Global Supply Chain Management Initiative. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
As coronavirus spreads, farmers fear market closures and lost income
Communities across the country are attempting to delay the spread of the novel coronavirus by canceling large events, closing schools, and banning large gatherings. But farmers who sell directly to consumers, through farmers' markets or other channels, are concerned about how their farms will survive if those outlets temporarily shutter.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Labor shortages, SNAP cuts, trade deals: How could coronavirus affect our food supply chain?
Although U.S. shoppers concerned about the coronavirus pandemic have largely emptied stores of paper products and household cleaning supplies, so far most other grocery aisles remain stocked. Still, as the virus spreads across the U.S., it could expose other weaknesses in our food supply chain, experts say. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>