Playing corn ethanol as Trump card in Iowa
Former president Donald Trump, ignoring his own mixed record on biofuels, said at a rally in western Iowa that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his most viable challenger for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, “totally despises Iowa ethanol and ethanol generally.” Trump, who directed $23 billion in bailouts to farmers to offset a decline in ag exports during the trade war with China, described himself as “the most pro-farmer president that you’ve ever had.”
USDA launches $2.2 billion program to remedy discrimination
The Agriculture Department is taking applications from farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners for a share of a $2.2 billion fund to compensate victims of discrimination in USDA farm lending programs. Congress created the fund last year after lawsuits stymied a debt-relief plan aimed at farmers of color.
LATEST
Can mushrooms help prevent megafires?
The federal government has committed nearly $5 billion to thinning forests on about 50 million Western acres over the next 10 years: selectively sawing trees, then stripping the limbs from their trunks and collecting the debris.The challenge is what to do with all those piles of sticks, which create fire hazards of their own. Some environmental scientists believe they have an answer: mushrooms. Fungus has an uncommon knack for transformation. Give it garbage, plastic, even corpses, and it will convert them all into something else — for instance, nutrient-rich soil.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Schumer stresses bipartisan farm bill: In a letter to Democratic senators, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer includes “common-sense farm policy” among issues for action in July and says “we will depend on the cooperation of our Republican colleagues to get any of them done.” (Senate Democrats)
Record world cereal production: Due almost entirely to better prospects for wheat, the global grain harvest was forecast at a record 2.819 billion tonnes in 2023/24, up 1.1 percent from last month, with the stock-to-use ratio at a comfortable 30.6 percent. (FAO)
Logging fuels climate change: World demand for wood is projected to grow by 54 percent by 2050, an unexpectedly large increase that will contribute to global warming, scientists said the journal Nature. (Los Angeles Times)
Pork exports surge: Pork exports were the largest in two years during May, and shipments so far this year were worth $3.35 billion, 13-percent larger than at this point a year ago. (U.S. Meat Export Federation)
Obesity increased during pandemic: In the first year of the pandemic, “the U.S. obesity rate significantly increased,” by 1.3 percentage points nationwide, with the largest gains among people without a high school diploma. (Economic Research Service)
ON THE USDA CALENDAR
Monday
Senate reconvenes after Independence Day holiday and votes at 5:30 p.m. ET on whether to limit debate on the nomination of Xochitl Torres Small for Agriculture deputy secretary. The cloture vote is a test of support for Torres Small, now Agriculture undersecretary for rural development. If it succeeds, she is sure of Senate confirmation as the No. 2 USDA official.
House Ways and Means subcommittee holds a field hearing, “Trade in America: Agriculture and critical supply chains,” Kimball, Minnesota.
The School Nutrition Association holds its annual National Conference, through Tuesday, Denver.
USDA releases weekly Crop Progress report, 4 p.m. ET.
Tuesday
Senate Health Committee hearing, “Superbugs: The impact of antimicrobial resistance on modern medicine,” 10 a.m. ET, 430 Dirksen.
USDA holds a webinar on Economic Research Service report, “Concentration and Competition in U.S. Agribusiness,” 1 p.m. ET. The report examines concentration in the seed, meatpacking, and food retail sectors. “This report details consolidation in each of these industries, explains the driving forces behind increased concentration, and examines public policies aimed at encouraging competition, with a focus on the implementation of merger policy,” says the ERS.
The House returns from a two-week Independence Day recess.
Wednesday
Michigan State University hosts Universal Food Forum, Washington. “With a focus on nuanced discussion and open dialogue, participants will discuss the challenges and complexities surrounding global food systems,” says MSU. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is a keynote speaker in the afternoon.
The Labor Department releases monthly Consumer Price Index report, 8:30 a.m. ET. A month ago, the U.S. inflation rate was 4 percent annually, the lowest since March 2021, and the food inflation rate was 6.7 percent annually.
USDA releases monthly Crop Production and WASDE reports, noon ET. In wire-service surveys, traders said they expect USDA to forecast the largest corn crop ever despite worryingly dry weather in the Farm Belt in June. Farmers planted more land to corn than expected and the larger area, the largest in a decade, will outweigh the effects of drought-reduced yields per acre. The soybean crop would be the sixth largest, instead of the largest ever, according to traders. Corn and soybeans are planted side by side, so with more land in corn there is less room for soybeans, and as a result, the harvest will be smaller.
Organic Produce Network hosts the sixth annual Organic Produce Summit, through Thursday, Monterey, California.
Friday
The UN International Agency for Research on Cancer reports on whether the artificial sweetener aspartame is carcinogenic.
Sunday
Institute of Food Technologists holds annual meeting, through July 19, Chicago.
