U.S. will vigorously enforce fair-play laws in meatpacking, says Biden
President Biden announced a four-point plan for increased competition in the meat industry on Monday, including “across the board” enforcement of antitrust laws and support of legislation to inject transparency into cattle pricing. During a virtual meeting with farmers and ranchers, Biden said meatpacking, dominated by a handful of big processors, was a textbook example of the perils of corporate consolidation.
As the climate changes, new efforts arise to diversify what’s grown in the Corn Belt
A growing number of farmers, researchers and nonprofits are working to transform the Midwestern corn and soybean belt into a more diverse cropping region, including a new USDA-funded project at Purdue University designed to study how to help growers diversify their farms.
California has sufficient pork supply, state agency says
Some hog farmers plan to expand their operations with Proposition 12 in effect, said California agriculture officials in the “Planting Seeds” blog as the voter-approved law took effect over the weekend. “Additionally, we believe there is sufficient product already in the supply chain to carry through for a number of months.”
Today’s Quick Hits
China falls short: The “phase one” trade deal obliged China to import a total of $80.1 billion of U.S. agriculture, food and seafood during 2020 and 2021. But one month before the agreement expired, Beijing had imported only $56.3 billion of these products, despite regaining its position as the No. 1 customer for U.S. farm exports. (Peterson Institute for International Economics)
Pork price-fixing alleged: Five supermarket chains filed suit in federal court accusing Hormel, JBS, Seaboard, Smithfield, Tyson and other processors of conspiring to fix pork prices by limiting production. (Law Street Media)
Farewell, Lunch Tray: Bettina Elias Siegel, who blogged for a decade about children and school nutrition and wrote the book “Kid Food,” shut down her newsletter, “The Lunch Tray,” with the start of 2022. “I’m itching for a change,” she told readers. (Siegel)
Organic apples popular: The nationwide average price for organic apples was 41 percent higher than conventional apples at the end of 2021, due to a small crop and strong demand; about 15 percent of U.S. apples are organic. (The Packer)
LGBTQ farmers movement: Farming in the United States is an overwhelmingly white, male occupation but one research paper “suggests queer farmers are both more prevalent than expected and different from other farmers in significant ways.” (Modern Farmer)
