Supply chain issues, not profiteering, to blame for high prices, says pork industry report – January 27, 2022

Supply chain issues, not profiteering, to blame for high prices, says pork industry report

Although the White House blames big meatpackers for driving up food prices, the real culprits are higher costs and labor shortages all along the supply chain, said a pork industry report on Wednesday. Four packers control 65 percent of hog slaughter in the United States, but the industry is less concentrated than it was five years ago.

Experts: Congress must treat poor nutrition, climate change, and biodiversity loss as interconnected

Addressing the interlinked crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and diet-related disease will require coordinated action, systems thinking, and much more public funding, a panel of scientists, farmers, and advocates told Congress on Wednesday.

World Bank sees gains for climate and economy if ag policies are revised

If governments encourage climate-smart farming, they would see an increase in agricultural productivity and a sizable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by agriculture, said a report by the World Bank and the IFPRI think tank on Wednesday. The report advocates a “repurposing” of agriculture policies and subsidies.

Today’s Quick Hits

Rural infrastructure funds: Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jewel Bronaugh announced $1 billion in USDA loans and grants for 731 healthcare, education and public safety projects in rural America, including $360 million to build a 200-bed hospital in McCalla, Alabama. (USDA)

CRP signup begins: Landowners can apply for the long-term Conservation Reserve Program during a “general” signup, for large tracts of land, from Jan. 31 to March 11. The enrollment period for the CRP’s grassland option will run from April 4 to May 13. (Farm Service Agency)

Viterra buys Gavilon unit: Crop trader Viterra will buy Gavilon’s grain-trading business for $1.1 billion from the Japanese company Marubeni, expanding Viterra’s access to the American market. (Financial Times)

Walker raises millions: Former football star Herschel Walker, a Republican, has raised about $10 million since he announced a run for the U.S. Senate from Georgia. The incumbent, Raphael Warnock, a Democratic member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, had $17.2 million in the bank last fall. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The rural life: A Pew Research Center study found that the pandemic has had little impact on the portion of Americans who want to live in rural areas — 35 percent in 2021 compared with 36 percent in 2018. (Daily Yonder)

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