Rural Iowa was important but not decisive for Trump
Former president Donald Trump won 60 percent of the rural vote in Iowa’s Republican presidential caucuses, well above his statewide total of 51 percent. But his victory Monday in the first-in-the-nation test of voter support for presidential candidates was built on the vote in towns, where most Iowans live, said a Daily Yonder analysis.
Red Sea attacks reverberate in food and ag trade
Houthi attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea are disrupting grain shipments from Europe, Ukraine, and Russia to customers in East Africa and Asia, with the potential to drive up food costs in import-dependent countries, said a think tank blog on Wednesday. “While this worst-case scenario for the Red Sea crisis is still unlikely, the current disruption is a reminder of the fragility of supply chains and the need for countries to be flexible in sourcing food when disruptions occur,” it said.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
USDA taps nutrition leader: Kumar Chandran was named acting undersecretary for nutrition, overseeing programs including SNAP, WIC, and school lunch, after three years as a nutrition adviser to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. (USDA)
Greenland glaciers retreating: The Greenland ice sheet lost about 20 percent more ice mass in the past four years than previously estimated, said a NASA scientist, and the majority of its glaciers have retreated significantly. (NASA)
Warning on pesticide riders: More than 140 state and local officials signed a letter asking the House and Senate Agriculture committees to forgo any provisions in the new farm bill that would override their rights to regulate pesticides. (EWG)
Co-ops explore collaboration: CHS and Growmark, farmer-owned cooperatives that formed a venture capital fund in 2021 to support breakthrough agricultural technologies, announced plans to explore additional opportunities for collaboration. (CHS)
Vilsack to announce pilot plan: On Friday, at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will announce a pilot program to help small producers and processors directly access higher-value markets. (USDA)
