Food inflation dips lower, to 2.2 percent
Steaks, pork chops, and milk cost less than they did a year ago, said the Labor Department on Tuesday in reporting that grocery prices rose by 1 percent in the past 12 months. The overall food inflation rate, which includes groceries, carry-out food, and restaurant meals, was 2.2 percent, the lowest rate since May 2021.
More biodiesel plants may close in 2024
Production of biodiesel, the original renewable fuel made from soybean oil, is being squeezed by the boom in renewable diesel, wrote agricultural economist Scott Irwin on Tuesday. “If the losses in 2024 to date continue, more biodiesel plant shutdowns may be in the offing,” he said on the farmdoc daily blog.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Ernst wants to move up: Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, now the fourth-ranking member of Republican leadership in the Senate, is running for the No. 3 spot against Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, with the vote to occur after the Nov. 5 general elections. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Tyson closes Iowa plant: Tyson Foods will close its pork-packing plant in Perry, Iowa, in June, eliminating nearly 1,300 jobs. (USA Today)
Legislation targets food dyes: California state legislator Jesse Gabriel, a leader behind the 2023 law that bans four food additives, filed a bill to prohibit six food dyes and the food additive titanium dioxide from food served in California’s public schools. (Environmental Working Group)
Critique of USDA loan appeals: When farmers appeal the USDA denial of a farm ownership or farm operating loan, only one in seven of them will be successful, said a report that called for reform in the National Appeals Division. (Center for Agriculture and Food Systems)
Re-elect NFU leaders: Delegates to the National Farmers Union annual convention re-elected Rob Larew as president and Jeff Kippley as vice president of the 234,000-member farm group; it will be Larew’s third and Kippley’s second two-year term. (NFU)
