Second load of specialty infant formula to arrive within days
The Biden administration’s “Operation Fly Formula” will deliver 114 pallets of specialty infant formula to the United States within days in a rapid follow-up to the first load of 132 pallets on Sunday, said the White House. The flights, arranged through the Pentagon, are intended to ease shortages across the nation.
EPA to propose 2023 ethanol mandate within four months
The trade group Growth Energy sued the EPA last month because it was far behind schedule in setting the ethanol mandate for 2023, the first year the agency has a free hand in drafting the regulation. A consent decree, if approved, would resolve the complaint and oblige the EPA to propose the renewable fuel mandate by Sept. 16 and finalize it by April 23, 2023.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Food security a Quad topic: White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said India’s reluctance to allow larger wheat exports “will be a topic of conversation” at this week’s meeting of the leaders of the United States, India, Japan and Australia. (White House)
Fewer hens laying eggs: The U.S. hen flock is down 6 percent due to outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza, but egg production is off only 3 percent compared to this time last year. (USDA)
Growers seek more guestworkers: Applications by growers to hire short-term guestworkers increased 17.5 percent in the first two quarters of fiscal 2022, according to Labor Department data. (The Packer)
Indonesia ends export ban: Weeks after it banned exports of palm oil, Indonesia said it would remove the ban this week while requiring palm oil processors to take part in a program to keep an adequate supply of the cooking oil at home. (Al Jazeera)
Cubans feel food pinch: In its worst economic crisis in decades, Cuba lacks money to pay for food imports and Cubans “have been hit by mass shortages of dairy and other basic goods.” (Washington Post)
ON THE CALENDAR
Monday
Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank holds 2022 Agricultural Symposium, “Help Wanted in Agriculture,” through Tuesday, Kansas City. The symposium “will explore the role of labor in determining the long-term outlook for agriculture and related businesses, how policies will shape that outlook, and the potential for structural change.”
The National WIC Association holds an annual education and training conference, through Thursday, New Orleans.
National Restaurant Association show, through Tuesday, Chicago.
USDA releases monthly Cold Storage report, 3 p.m. ET.
USDA releases weekly Crop Progress report, 4 p.m. ET.
Tuesday
Georgia holds primary elections, with three Democrats challenging House Agriculture chairman David Scott for the party’s nomination in a suburban Atlanta congressional district. The challengers include former state Sen. Vincent Fort, who says the district needs someone who is a progressive, in contrast to Scott, a member of the Blue Dog coalition of House Democrats. In southwestern Georgia, six candidates seek the Republican endorsement to run against Rep. Sanford Bishop, a 15-term Democrat, in what may be the most competitive district in the state.
Wednesday
House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, “The infant formula crisis,” 2 p.m. ET.
House Agriculture subcommittee hearing online, “Supporting careers in conservation: Workforce training, education and job opportunities,” 1 p.m. ET.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is lead witness at Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the fiscal 2023 budget for the department, 10 a.m. ET, 124 Dirksen.
USAID administrator Samantha Power is lead witness at Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the fiscal 2023 budget for the agency, 2:30 p.m. ET, 124 Dirksen.
House Appropriations subcommittee on USDA and FDA holds “member day” hearing, 3:30 p.m.
U.S. Meat Export Federation holds spring conference, through Friday, San Antonio.
USDA releases monthly Food Price Outlook report, 9 a.m. ET. At present, food prices are forecast to rise an unusually high 5.5 percent this year compared to prices throughout 2021. Over the past 20 years, food prices have gone up an average 2.4 percent annually.
USDA releases semi-annual Farm Labor and annual Floriculture reports, 3 p.m. ET.
Thursday
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack testified at the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, “Opportunities and challenges facing farmers, families and rural communities,” 10 a.m. 216 Hart.
MUSDA releases quarterly Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade report, 3 p.m. ET. At present, exports are forecast at a record $183.5 billion and imports at $172.5 billion, also a record.
May 30
Memorial Day, honoring men and women who died while serving in the armed forces. Observed originally as Decoration Day following the Civil War, Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1971. The origins of the observance are unclear; some records suggest Black people held the first commemoration in 1865, says History.com, but Waterloo, New York, is credited as the birthplace of Memorial Day because it hosted an annual community-wide observance in which businesses closed and residents put flowers and flags at the graves of soldiers. In 1868, former Gen. John Logan of Illinois, a Civil War veteran, proposed a nationwide day of remembrance of the war dead.
