House Agriculture to lose one in five members
Between retirement and electoral defeat, 10 members will leave the House Agriculture Committee when the congressional session ends next month — one-fifth of its roster.
White House bolsters security for food and ag sector
The federal government will keep a closer eye on threats to the U.S. food supply, such as cyberattacks and pandemic diseases, under a national security memorandum signed by President Biden. The “threat landscape” has evolved since an early focus on terrorism, said senior administration officials during a briefing.
Food inflation declines for second month in a row
Lower beef prices helped pull down the food inflation rate to an annualized 10.9 percent in October, the second month in a row of a decline, said the Labor Department in the Consumer Price Index report.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Child labor: A federal judge ordered Packers Sanitation Services to stop “employing oppressive child labor.” The company is accused of employing at least 31 children to work overnight shifts cleaning meat-processing plants. (New York Times)
Tyson CFO faces charges: Six weeks after he was named chief financial officer of Tyson Foods, John R. Tyson was arrested for public intoxication and criminal trespassing after being found asleep in a stranger’s home. (CBS News)
School-food referendums: Advocates of free meals for all public school students are looking at ballot initiatives as a path to success following voter approval of a free-meal referendum in Colorado. (Food Fix)
Farmland values skyrocket: Farm bankers in the Midwest said good quality farmland soared in value by 20 percent in the past year. (Chicago Federal Reserve Bank)
Invest in cold chains: Governments, industry and international development groups should invest in sustainable food cold chains to reduce food loss due to spoilage as a step toward decreasing hunger and adapting to climate change. (UN Environment Program)
ON THE CALENDAR
Monday
House Rules Committee considers a draft report, “Ending hunger in America: Challenges, opportunities and the political will to succeed,” 2 p.m. ET, H-313, The Capitol. The report is a compilation of testimony, materials submitted to the committee and letters of support from 14 hearings and roundtable discussions.
Clean Fuels Alliance America, formerly the National Biodiesel Board, releases an economic impact study of its sector of the biofuels industry, noon ET. The trade group will hold its annual Member Meeting through Wednesday.
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jewel Bronaugh announces new resources from USDA’s Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative at the White House Tribal Youth Forum, Washington.
The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) released a report, “Zoonotic diseases in animal agriculture and beyond: A One Health perspective.” The author, Lonnie King, is scheduled to hold three briefings in Washington. The report would be available on the CAST website afterward.
Entrepreneur and environmentalist Jason Feldman speaks at The Chicago Farmers luncheon about the Green Era Renewable Energy and Urban Agriculture Campus in Chicago’s Auburn-Gresham neighborhood, 12:30 p.m. ET, Chicago.
USDA releases weekly Crop Progress report, 4 p.m. ET.
Tuesday
Agriculture undersecretary Xochitl Torres Small is lead witness at Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, “Farm bill 2023: Rural development and energy programs,” 10 a.m. ET. 328A Russell.
Ohio State University holds 2022 Agricultural Policy and Outlook Conference, 8:30 a.m. ET, Columbus, Ohio. Agricultural economists Scott Irwin of the University of Illinois and Aaron Wilson of OSU will discuss, “More land or higher yields: How do we increase U.S. agricultural output?”
National Agricultural Statistics Service holds semi-annual Data Users’ Meeting online, noon ET. During the meeting, USDA will share recent and pending statistical program changes with the public and solicit input on these and other programs important to agriculture.
USDA releases Rural America at a Glance: 2022 Edition, 3 p.m. ET. The report typically summarizes rural population trends, employment, poverty and income. The 2022 edition “reviews industry shifts and looks at population trends affecting the makeup and availability of the rural labor force, including demographic changes such as age, race, and ethnicity.”
Wednesday
The Senate Special Committee on Aging holds a hearing, “Setting the table: Promoting healthy and affordable food for older Americans,” 10:30 a.m. ET, 562 Dirksen. Witnesses include Jeremy Everett, founder of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty.
American Farm Bureau Federation releases the results of its annual survey of the cost of Thanksgiving dinner, based on spot checks of grocery store prices.
USDA holds a webinar on the new edition of its Rural America at a Glance report, 1 p.m. ET.
The National Association of Farm Broadcasters holds annual convention, through Friday, Kansas City.
Field to Market and Innovation for U.S. Dairy host annual Sustainable Agriculture Summit, through Thursday, Glendale, Arizona.
Association of Equipment Manufacturers holds annual conference, through Friday, Napa, California.
USDA releases monthly Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook, 3 p.m. ET.
Thursday
Council for Agricultural Science and Technology hosts a webinar on its new report, “Zoonotic diseases in animal agriculture and beyond: A One Health perspective,” 1 p.m. ET.
International Grains Council releases monthly Grain Market Report, London.
Friday
Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Bangkok, Thailand, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting. “The vice president’s participation will underscore the U.S. commitment to economic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and she will outline U.S. goals for our APEC host year in 2023,” said the White House.
USDA releases monthly Cattle on Feed report, 3 p.m. ET.
Saturday
President Biden meets President Xi Jinping of China on the sidelines of the G20 conference in Bali, Indonesia. The White House says Biden and Xi “will discuss efforts to maintain and deepen lines of communication between the United States and the PRC, responsibly manage competition, and work together where our interests align, especially on transnational challenges that affect the international community. The two leaders will also discuss a range of regional and global issues.”
