Public had fewer fears than leaders did of meat shortages – May 10, 2022

Public had fewer fears than leaders did of meat shortages

In April 2020, when outbreaks of Covid-19 among slaughterhouse workers slowed U.S. meat production, the chairman of Tyson Foods said in full-page advertisements, “The supply chain is breaking.” Two days later, President Trump signed an executive order to keep processing plants open during the pandemic. In retrospect, the meat supply chain was strained, but not broken, and production recovered quickly, said a team of economists in the journal Meat Science.

Scant rainfall imperils wheat in southwestern Kansas

Kansas grows one out of every six bushels of wheat harvested in the United States, and often leads the nation in wheat production. But in several counties in the state’s southwestern corner, where the drought is at its worst, “very little wheat will make it to harvest,” said the farmer-funded organization Kansas Wheat on Monday, pointing to arid conditions and “vicious” winter winds.

TODAY’S QUICK HITS

Immigration-reform vote possible: The tight labor market and high U.S. inflation rate could provide the impetus for a Senate vote ahead of the midterm elections on immigration reform, including revisions to the H-2A visa for agricultural guestworkers. (Roll Call)

More HPAI funds sought: Funding to combat highly pathogenic avian influenza, which has hit 291 domestic flocks and killed 37.5 million birds, should be a high priority when Congress sets the USDA budget for fiscal year 2023, said 10 senators in a letter. (Klobuchar)

‘Race to the bottom’: Aided by easily available county permits, farmers in the Central Valley are in a well-drilling frenzy despite a 2014 state law that was supposed to preserve groundwater supplies; legislators hope a new bill will slow the stampede. (Los Angeles Times)

Successes, gaps at gene banks: There has been tremendous progress by gene banks in the preservation of crop diversity for 25 major crops, but large gaps persist for crops such as millet, yams, potatoes and peas, said an analysis in the journal Nature Plants. (CIAT)

Fewer cod than ever: Maine fishermen, who caught 20 million pounds of cod annually in the early 1990s, caught less than 50,000 pounds of the fish last year, the smallest catch ever due to collapsing fish stocks and government quotas. (Associated Press)

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