‘Nobel Prize of Agriculture’ awarded to NASA climate scientist
NASA climatologist Cynthia Rosenzweig, one of the first scientists to document the impact of climate change on food production, is this year’s winner of the $250,000 World Food Prize, said the Food Prize foundation on Thursday. “Dr. Rosenzweig has brought powerful computational tools into practical application in agriculture and food systems,” said foundation president Barbara Stinson during an announcement ceremony at the State Department.
Iowa’s hyper-consolidated hog industry drives income inequality
The increasing dominance of large factory farms in Iowa means hog farmers earn $2 less per pound of pork than they did 40 years ago, when the state had many more smaller farms, according to a new report by the nonprofit advocacy group Food & Water Watch.
USDA announces $50 million in apparel industry relief
Apparel manufacturers are eligible for $50 million in pandemic relief funding that will indirectly help cotton and wool producers, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday. The USDA said the new Cotton and Wool Apparel program would mitigate the downturn in sales of dress apparel during the pandemic.
Today’s Quick Hits
Nantucket says no to fertilizer: In hopes of aiding scallop and other fisheries, residents of Nantucket Island voted overwhelmingly to ban the use of landscaping fertilizers, which some blame for local algae blooms. (Boston Globe)
Oklahoma wheat crop halved: Growers will harvest half as much hard red winter wheat in Oklahoma this year as they did in 2021 — an estimated 57 million bushels — due to drought and high winds that stunted the crop. (DTN/Progressive Farmer)
Indiana lifts HPAI controls: In a step that marked “significant progress,” the Indiana Board of Animal Health ended all bird flu control areas in the state, which has lost 188,403 turkeys and ducks in nine outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza. (BOAH)
Corn planting will pay: Futures prices are currently high enough that farmers would see more revenue from late-planted and lower-yielding corn than from collecting a prevented planting payment from crop insurers. (farmdoc daily)
Gustin is top writer: Georgina Gustin of Inside Climate News won the writer of the year award from North American Agricultural Journalists for a story about land clearing that threatens the Amazon’s role as a counterweight to climate change. (NAAJ)
