Food Box purchases will precede coronavirus checks to farmers – March 8, 2020

Food Box purchases will precede coronavirus checks to farmers

 

Farmers and ranchers will begin signing up for $16 billion in coronavirus payments by the end of May if all goes according to plan, said a USDA spokesperson on Thursday. In that case, the payments would follow the USDA’s awarding of contracts for another part of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, the Farmers to Families Food Box.

Unsafe heat for farmworkers to nearly double by 2050, study predicts

 

Officially, about five farmworkers die every year from heat-related illness, though that number is likely an undercount. But whatever the true death toll, it’s expected to rise sharply in coming years. According to a study led by climate scientist Michelle Tigchelaar, the number of unsafe days in crop-growing U.S. counties will jump from today’s 21 per season to 39 days per season by 2050. The near doubling of unsafe days implies a near doubling in deaths.

Trump issues executive order to speed up fish farming

Saying he wants to expand U.S. seafood production, President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to streamline federal review and approval of aquaculture sites. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department announced $300 million in coronavirus relief funds for the seafood industry.

Loeffler leaves Senate agriculture subcommittee amid controversy

Sen. Kelly Loeffler received stock and other awards worth more than $9 million from her former employer just before she was appointed to the Senate in January. To quash criticism of the package, the Georgia Republican stepped down from the Senate agriculture subcommittee that oversees the futures markets.

 

With Covid-19 in Alaska, a home-grown food movement underway

Alaska imports more than 90 percent of its food, but with Covid-19 interrupting supply chains, especially to remote regions, people in the state are reacting by starting gardens and advocating for more locally grown food.

TODAY’S QUICK HITS

Governor ends Covid-19 reporting (News Channel Nebraska): Gov. Pete Ricketts said the state will no longer report on specific numbers of cases of Covid-19 at meat processing plants, describing the move as a matter of privacy.

 

 

World food prices drop 3 percent (FAO): The Food Price Index fell for the third month in a row, this time by 3 percent, with declines in all five of its components — sugar, vegetable oils, dairy, meat, and cereal grains — as the coronavirus pandemic caused significant contractions in food demand.

 

 

Pelosi backs SNAP increase (Speaker Pelosi): “We have to have SNAP” in the next coronavirus bill, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a news conference, referring to previous proposals for a temporary 15 percent increase in benefits.

 

 

Seventh death at Greeley plant (CPR): A seventh worker at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado, has died of Covid-19, and Gov. Jared Polis announced the state is offering free coronavirus tests to all employees at the plant.

 

 

Farm bankruptcies on the rise (AFBF): Some 627 farm bankruptcies were filed in the 12 months ending in March, up 23 percent from the previous year, said the Farm Bureau, and the coronavirus pandemic, by reducing farm income, “could increase farm bankruptcies.”

 

 

Correction: Pence to Iowa today (Ag Insider): Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to travel to Des Moines today to “discuss steps being taken to ensure the food supply remains secure” with ag and food leaders. On Thursday, Ag Insider incorrectly reported the date of the visit.

 

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