As meat plants reopen, Iowa, South Dakota, Pennsylvania and Nebraska are coronavirus leaders
As many as 18 percent of workers in meat and poultry plants are infected with the coronavirus in Iowa and South Dakota, while Pennsylvania and Nebraska account for one-quarter of the Covid-19 cases nationwide, said CDC scientists and state public health officials.
Trump tariff payments went to big farm operators
When the Trump administration poured billions of dollars into rural America to mitigate the impact of trade war, “most of it bypassed the country’s traditional small and medium-sized farms that were battered by the loss of their export market,” said the CBS News program 60 Minutes on Sunday.
‘The workers are being sacrificed’
In a major new investigation, published Friday in collaboration with Mother Jones, reporters Esther Honig and Ted Genoways tell the stories of workers in America’s meatpacking plants who are facing high rates of Covid-19 — and of the industry’s chilling disregard for its workforce.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
‘Murder hornet’ reaches the U.S. (New York Times): Asian giant hornets, with queens that grow up to two inches long, have been spotted in the Pacific Northwest and insect experts hope to prevent the “murder hornet,” which can destroy a beehive in hours, from becoming established in the United States.
DOJ puts conditions on milk merger (WMTV): The Justice Department said Dairy Farmers of America must sell processing plants in De Pere, Wisconsin, Harvard, Illinois, and Franklin, Massachusetts, to resolve antitrust issues in its proposal to acquire Dean Foods.
China buys $82 million of U.S. soy (USDA): Private exporters reported the sale of 264,000 tonnes of U.S.-grown soybeans worth $82 million for delivery to China, the first major sale to China in a week.
Deere to halt production in two plants (Successful Farming): Deere and Co., the largest construction and farm-equipment maker in the world, said it would suspend production starting May 11 for two weeks at plants in Dubuque and Davenport, Iowa, because of supply chain disruptions and weakened demand for construction and forestry equipment due to the coronavirus.
Dairy group opposes coronavirus limits (NMPF): The largest dairy-farmer group said the USDA’s proposal to cap coronavirus aid at $125,000 per farmer “would severely limit the program’s aid for dairies that produce more than half the nation’s milk,” in a appeal for higher — or no — limits.
ON THE USDA CALENDAR
Monday
– American Enterprise Institute holds webinar, “Covid-19: A food supply crisis or a hunger crisis?” with panelists Joe Glauber of IFPRI, Angela Rachidi of AEI, Dianne Schanzenbach of Northwestern University, Vincent Smith of Montana State University and Scott Winship of the congressional Joint Economic Committee; 9:30 a.m. ET.
– USDA issues weekly Crop Progress report, 4 p.m. ET.
Tuesday
– Cinco de Mayo (May 5), a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, has become a major celebration in the United States of Mexican culture and heritage. The origin is the victory of a Mexican army over a larger French army in the battle of Puebla de Los Angeles on this date in 1862.
– On the first Tuesday of each month, Purdue University releases monthly Ag Economy Barometer, providing a sense of the agricultural economy’s health.
– USDA releases Non-citrus Fruits and Nuts Annual report, 3 p.m. ET.
Wednesday
– House Appropriations subcommittee on labor and health hearing, “Covid-19 response,” 10 a.m. ET 2359 Rayburn. Lead witnesses are former FDA commissioner Tom Frieden and Caitlin Rivers, assistant professor of environmental health at Johns Hopkins University. For details, click here. The White House denied a request for testimony from Dr. Anthony Fauci, its top expert on infectious diseases as “counterproductive”; officials said Fauci would speak at a Senate hearing next week, reported the Washington Post.
– Consumer Federation of America holds Virtual Consumer Assembly, through Thursday; sessions begin at 1:30 p.m ET on each day. Speakers include Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio today, and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine on Thursday.
Friday
– American Farmland Trust holds webinar, “Farming in a pandemic: Policy responses in California,” 4:30 p.m. ET.
– USDA updates its database of Agricultural Chemical Usage — Field Crops, 3 p.m. ET.
Sunday
– The U.S. celebration of Mother’s Day was the work of Anna Jarvis, beginning with an observance in 1908 in Grafton, West Virginia, says History.com. Aided by a letter-writing campaign and wide popularity of the idea, President Wilson signed a measure designating the second Sunday of May as Mother’s Day, in 1914. Within a few years, Jarvis was repelled by the commercialization of the day and lobbied to have the holiday removed from the calendar.
