Month: July 2023

Appetite for meat in China could lead to much larger imports Meat consumption in China has increased significantly since the 1970s and could climb further in the next decade, giving the country one of the highest per capita consumption rates in Asia, said a USDA report: “This trend creates new… Continue reading

Senators propose a $250,000 ‘hard cap’ on farm subsidies With the farm bill in mind, two Midwestern senators called for a “hard cap” of $250,000 in crop subsidies per farm, coupled with rules to limit the money to working farmers on Thursday. It would be an about-face in policy from… Continue reading

Farm bill hurdles include the difficult politics of SNAP, says Stabenow The “very difficult” politics of SNAP are among the greatest obstacles to passing the new farm bill, said Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow on Wednesday. The Michigan Democrat is a stalwart defender of public nutrition programs in a… Continue reading

Grocery inflation rate in 2024 forecast as lowest in five years In its first forecast of 2024 food costs, the government said grocery prices would climb by a modest 0.9 percent next year. If so, it would be the lowest annual grocery inflation rate in five years and mark the… Continue reading

White House threatens to veto USDA-FDA funding bill House Republicans are “wasting time with partisan bills,” said the White House in a three-page list of objections to the $198 billion USDA-FDA funding bill on Monday, including cuts to clean energy programs and a ban on over-the-counter sales of the abortion… Continue reading

For U.S., regional ag imports are ‘a story about Mexico’ Agricultural imports from Latin America and the Caribbean grew at a compound annual growth rate of 6.9 percent in the 12 years following the Great Recession, much faster than the global rate of 5.6 percent, says the USDA in a… Continue reading

Black Sea shutdown could have multiyear impact on Ukraine’s farmers Ukraine is losing its place as one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat and corn because of warfare, and its role could shrink further with the closure of Black Sea shipping lanes this week, said analysts at the IFPRI… Continue reading

Aided by grassland signup, Conservation Reserve reaches enrollment limit For the first time in more than a decade, the Conservation Reserve, which pays landowners an annual rent in exchange for taking fragile cropland out of production, is full, thanks to surging interest in the Grassland CRP option, said the Agriculture… Continue reading

U.S. gives $250 million to support Ukrainian agriculture On the same day Russia aimed a “retribution” attack on the port of Odesa, USAID administrator Samantha Power announced an additional $250 million to support Ukraine’s war-battered agricultural sector on Tuesday. The money, put into the U.S.-created Agriculture Resilience Initiative-Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine), will… Continue reading

Ukraine grain exports to suffer as Russia blockades Black Sea The United States will work with allies to find new ways to get Ukrainian grain onto the world market following Russia’s decision to effectively blockade its ports again, said an administration spokesman on Monday. Nonetheless, exports from Ukraine, a leading… Continue reading