Month: November 2021

Biden taps long-time USDA scientist to oversee food safety Jose Esteban, the chief scientist at USDA’s meat inspection agency, is President Biden’s choice to become agriculture undersecretary for food safety, announced the White House. If confirmed by the Senate, Esteban would be the USDA leader on issues ranging from prevention… Continue reading

Food a factor in highest inflation rate in three decades With the U.S. inflation rate at 6.2 percent — the highest it’s been since 1990 — President Biden said the government was on the alert for price gouging as it worked to remove bottlenecks in the supply chain. Inflation has… Continue reading

USDA Supports America’s Heroes Preparedness and defense are critical to America’s food and agriculture sectors and to sustaining and growing rural America. That’s why the U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking to military veterans across the country to fill the roles that keep America’s food supply safe and secure, preserve… Continue reading

U.S. let in record 317,000 agricultural guest workers With American farmers increasingly relying on foreign agricultural laborers, the Labor Department approved 317,619 seasonal guest workers during the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, up 15 percent from a year earlier, a farmworker advocacy group said on Tuesday. Cattle reformers… Continue reading

U.S. hits REvil ransomware group linked to attack on JBS The Justice Department is seeking extradition of a Ukrainian man on ransomware charges and has seized $6.1 million in alleged ransom payments from a Russian man, said Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday. Both men were part of the REvil… Continue reading

USDA: Strong U.S. economy, but falling crop prices in 2022 The red-hot U.S. recovery from the pandemic, with the fastest economic growth rate since 1984, will moderate to a still-strong 3.5 percent in 2022, said the USDA in its first look at the agricultural economy in the new year. Farm-gate… Continue reading

‘Build back’ bill offers work authorization for undocumented immigrants Hundreds of thousands of undocumented farmworkers could gain employment and travel authorization under provisions in the social welfare and climate change bill drafted by House Democrats. But while the proposal would relieve fears of deportation, it was far less than the… Continue reading

(USDA) – Today, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the award of over $7.5 million for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 in Farm to Food Bank Project funding to 29 states and territories that administer The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Farm to Food Bank Grants support the harvesting,… Continue reading

Renewable diesel boom is bane of bakers Bakers are experiencing a “soybean oil supply crisis” of soaring prices and limited availability due in part to the land rush of investors into renewable diesel fuel, said an Ohio baking executive on Wednesday. Soy oil is a key ingredient in baked goods… Continue reading

‘Overfed but undernourished’ — Congress is told U.S. in health crisis Poor-quality diets are driving an expensive epidemic of obesity, diabetes and heart disease in America, a panel of physicians, researchers and policy experts told senators on Tuesday. They called for a national strategy to replace the mishmash of federal… Continue reading