Tackle hunger and diet quality at the same time, says Vilsack
U.S. anti-hunger programs should address the twin challenges of nutrition — supplying enough food and encouraging diets built around healthy food — at the same time after decades of focusing on a lack of food for poor Americans, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday.
Lofgren and Newhouse try again on farm labor reform
Rebuffed by the Senate last year, two U.S. representatives on Wednesday reintroduced their bipartisan bill to create legal status for undocumented farmworkers and to streamline the H-2A visa program for guestworkers.
Farm income improves significantly, say ag bankers
Heartened by sharp increases in commodity prices, farmers and ranchers across the Midwest and Plains are paying off bank loans and opening their wallets for big-ticket purchases, said a report from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
Today’s Quick Hits
Is Grassley running?: Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley filed a statement of candidacy with the FEC for re-election in 2022, but the filing is “a standard practice for political professionals” and does not mean he will definitely run. (Little Village)
Fewer OSHA inspections: The Labor Department’s job safety agency received 15 percent more complaints during the first nine months of the pandemic than in the same period of 2019 but performed only half as many inspections and did not issue enforceable standards for coronavirus safeguards for workers, said an inspector general’s report. (Washington Post)
Producing quality catfish: The Agricultural Research Service announced $50,000 in awards to scientists from around the world for ideas on preserving the flavor of catfish and preventing the blue-green algae in catfish ponds that delays the harvest of half of U.S. catfish annually. (USDA)
Comeback for cotton: Although global cotton consumption will rebound by 7 percent this marketing year, to 24.5 million tonnes, it will remain well below its pre-pandemic levels. (International Cotton Advisory Committee)
Sorenson to lead NPPC: Jen Sorenson, part of an Iowa business that markets more than 5 million head of hogs per year, was elected president of the National Pork Producers Council at the annual Pork Industry Forum. (NPPC)
Attract and kill: A blend of natural moth attractants and small amounts of insecticide reduced damage to corn crops from the fall armyworm, an invasive pest, without harming bees in a trial in Brazil, say researchers. (Journal of Agricultural Sciences)
