Cattle group proposes more transparency in market prices
As an antidote for the dwindling cash market, the largest U.S. cattle group circulated a plan on Tuesday for meatpackers to voluntarily buy cattle on the spot market to assure fair and open prices, with the threat of mandatory disclosure if the system fails.
Iowa leans for Greenfield over Ernst in Senate race
Iowans have not defeated a Senate incumbent since 1984 but Democrat Theresa Greenfield could break that streak in her challenge to Republican Joni Ernst, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said Sabato’s Crystal Ball on Tuesday.
Thousands of previously undisclosed Covid-19 cases in food workplaces — CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an updated report on the spread of Covid-19 among food manufacturing and agricultural workers on Monday, revealing thousands of previously unreported cases and reiterating the disproportionate impact that the virus has had on workers of color.
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Experts warn of possible Covid-19 resurgence at food plants this fall
Public health experts are concerned about a possible resurgence of Covid-19 in food production plants this fall and that more comprehensive testing, physical distancing, and better data reporting are essential to keeping the virus in check, even as meatpackers insist that the worst of the pandemic has passed.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
USDA cash shower for ‘red’ counties: Preliminary data from a farm subsidy database say $9 of every $10 in USDA’s trade-war payments went to counties that voted for President Trump in 2016, partly because rural Americans voted in landslide numbers for Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. (Washington Post)
Farmworkers sue over chlorpyrifos exposure: Lawyers plan to file nearly 90 lawsuits against Corteva, manufacturer of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, along with cities and pesticide applicators, saying exposure to the chemical in the San Joaquin Valley of California resulted in health problems for farmworker families. (Fresno Bee)
Derecho yields vary widely: There is a vast range in yields in the 3.6 million acres of Iowa corn that were hit by the August derecho, depending on corn variety, the equipment, and the harvest technique used by each farmer. “You gotta put an asterisk next” to any attempt to generalize about it, says agronomist Ben Hollingshead. (Harvest Public Media)
California organic tops $3 billion: Organic farmers grow more than 360 commodities in California with annual sales worth $3.1 billion, led by milk, strawberries, carrots, wine and table grapes, says an updated statistical review of the sector. (University of California)
Stable land values ahead: Land prices are likely to hold steady in the year ahead, according to 60 percent of respondents in a straw poll of farm sector participants conducted by text message; 28 percent expect farmland values to rise and 12 percent expect them to fall. (Farm Journal)
