Shipping disruptions may weigh heavily on U.S. ag exports
Delivery times are lengthening and shipping costs are rising for U.S. farm exports due to drought that has slowed traffic in the Panama Canal and attacks by militants on cargo ships in the Red Sea, said analysts on Tuesday. “These issues have not only underscored the fragility of key maritime routes but also have had a cascading effect on global agricultural supply chains, having the potential to disrupt 2024 U.S. agricultural exports severely,” they said.
Bill would label livestock rivals as ‘imitation’ or ‘lab-grown’ meat
With U.S. approval of cultivated chicken grown in fermentation vats, farm-state lawmakers filed companion bills in the House and Senate on Tuesday to require alternative proteins, such as plant-based foods, to carry the words “imitation” or “lab-grown” on their labels. Sponsors said they wanted to prevent confusion in the supermarket between “real farm-raised meat” and its rivals.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Navy veteran challenges Klobuchar: Political newcomer Joe Fraser, a retired Navy commander, said he would base his Republican campaign against third-term Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar on border security, inflation, and the national debt. (MPR News)
America’s prison farms: Prison labor is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars of agricultural products that are sold on the open market, sometimes by the world’s largest food companies, according to a two-year investigation. (Associated Press)
POET joins Summit pipeline: The largest U.S. ethanol producer, POET, said its 17 plants in Iowa and South Dakota would join Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed 2,000-mile pipeline to collect carbon dioxide from customers in five Midwestern states for injection in North Dakota. (POET)
Land bill advances in Indiana: On an 11-0 vote, the state House Agriculture Committee approved a bill that would prohibit acquisition of Indiana agricultural land by purchasers from U.S.-designated adversarial nations. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Wastewater jurisdiction upheld: A Calumet County judge ruled that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources was empowered to require large dairy farms to prevent manure from polluting water, contrary to a lawsuit that said wastewater permits exceeded state law. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
