Record-high ag subsidies to supply 39 percent of farm income
Despite the effects of the pandemic and the trade war, U.S. farm income this year will be the highest since 2013 because of the largest federal payments ever — $46.5 billion, triple the usual amount, the government said on Wednesday. Think tank analysts said farm income would fall in 2021 with the expiration of Trump-era bailouts, but the drop-off will be lessened by the ongoing rally in commodity prices and increased ag exports.
Biden: Fast on broadband, slow on China
President-elect Joe Biden supports greater broadband access and more funding for rural healthcare, and says he will not immediately remove President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese products, according to a column in the New York Times on Wednesday.
Congress sends grain standards bill to Trump
The House gave final congressional approval to the Grain Standards Reauthorization Act on a voice vote on Wednesday and sent the bill to the White House for President Trump’s signature.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Grassley backs Heitkamp, Peterson for USDA: Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who doesn’t accept that Joe Biden is president-elect, says Biden should select former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, House Agriculture chairman Collin Peterson, or “an Iowan” for agriculture secretary. (Grassley)
Thompson to lead GOP on House Ag: Pennsylvania Rep. Glenn Thompson was nominated by the House Republican Steering Committee to be the party’s leader on the Agriculture Committee in the new session of Congress. Reps. Austin Scott of Georgia and Rick Crawford of Arkansas had also sought the post. (Thompson)
Singapore approves cell-based meat: The San Francisco startup Eat Just Inc. won approval from the Singapore Food Agency to sell its lab-grown “cultured chicken” for use in chicken nuggets — the first time a government regulatory agency has approved the sale of cell-based meat. (New York Times)
Quadruple Covid rate among farmworkers: Thirteen percent of California farmworkers tested positive for Covid-19 compared with 3 percent of Californians overall, said a recent study, which also found that 57 percent of farmworkers with symptoms continued to work. (Desert Sun)
No break on CBD products: The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs rejected a proposal to exempt CBD preparations with less than 0.2 percent THC content from international control, with some delegates saying the proposal’s wording was unclear and that there was no evidence to support the 0.2 percent cutoff level. (Hemp Industry Daily)
China buys Indian rice for first time in years: Despite a long-standing border dispute, China is importing rice from India for the first time in three decades due to tight supplies in other exporter nations. (Reuters)
