War in Ukraine may trigger severe world food crisis — USAID
The Biden administration is preparing to tap an emergency food aid fund because of the ripple effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on hunger in Africa and the Middle East, a U.S. Agency for International Development official told lawmakers on Wednesday. Hunger and poverty could exceed the global food price crisis of 2007-08, said Sarah Charles of USAID.
Sales of E15 surge by 62 percent, says trade group
The recovering U.S. economy, aided by wider availability of the fuel, helped boost sales of E15 — gasoline that contains 15 percent ethanol — to a record 814 million gallons in 2021, said the Renewable Fuels Association on Wednesday. Sales were 62 percent higher than the 504 million gallons sold in 2020, according to RFA estimates.
Minnesota loses 1 million turkeys in bird flu outbreaks
Turkey farmers in Minnesota, the No. 1 turkey-producing state, lost more than 557,000 turkeys in 12 outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) this week, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday. Total losses since the first outbreak was reported on March 25 are slightly over 1 million turkeys.
Bringing back ‘good fire’ to the eastern seaboard
A growing movement of scientists, land management agencies, conservation organizations, and indigenous groups is working to return fire to fire-adapted ecosystems, including forests and grasslands, throughout the U.S.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Land reserve loses allure: With Conservation Reserve contracts expiring on 4 million acres this fall, landowners have re-enrolled 52-56 percent of the land, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, suggesting high commodity prices were luring land back into crops. “It’s a pretty significant number of acres that won’t be in the program,” he told reporters. (Ag Insider)
Three challenge Chairman Scott: Georgia Rep. David Scott, the first Black chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, faces three challengers in the Democratic primary election in May in his suburban Atlanta district. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Biden taps Logan for FCA: President Biden nominated lawyer and investment adviser Vincent Logan, a member of the Osage Nation, to serve on the board of the Farm Credit Administration, the regulator of the farm credit system. (White House)
Cow pies sell like hot cakes: Farmers looking for alternatives to high-priced chemical fertilizers are creating a booming market for manure, the original fertilizer, and now, according to an industry consultant, “absolutely a hot commodity.” (Reuters)
Brown, Harris are safe: New congressional maps put Democratic Rep. Shontel Brown of Ohio, a House Agriculture Committee member, and Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, a member of the Appropriations subcommittee in charge of USDA and FDA spending, in safe districts for re-election. (Sabato’s Crystal Ball)
