Economic recovery depends on ‘the path of the virus’ — Fed official
The U.S. recovery from the pandemic will depend in part on success in managing the coronavirus through steps such as therapeutics and a vaccine, the president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank told an agribusiness conference on Monday. Also at the meeting, two Trump administration officials attacked the EU Farm-to-Fork policy as a barrier to U.S. farm chemicals and biotechnology.
House Democrats propose SNAP increase, leash on USDA spending
House Democrats proposed on Monday a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package that included a one-year increase of SNAP benefits by 15 percent, $1 billion in payments to livestock and specialty crop producers and a requirement for USDA to report to Congress in advance of major outlays.
Wildfires rake California’s wine country
The Glass fire “burned rapidly…through Napa Valley’s famed Sliverado Trail, known for its wineries” and claimed the four-decade-old Chateau Boswell Winery northwest of St. Helena, California, said the Los Angeles Times. The wildfire swept over 11,000 acres and threatened thousands of structures as of midday Monday. “Ash could be seen falling from the sky throughout the region.”
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Four months, $25 billion to go: Through August, China imported $11 billion, or 30 percent, of the $36.6 billion of U.S. food, agricultural and seafood products that it agreed to buy this year under “phase one” of the Sino-U.S. trade agreement, based on Chinese import data. (Peterson Institute for International Economics)
Political uncertainty in farm income: Due to trade war and the pandemic, farm income in the northern Plains has shifted from the traditional uncertainty over crop yields and commodity prices to “a new level of political uncertainty” over stopgap federal payments. (Capital Journal)
Special election snags House ag panelist: A candidate for Minnesota’s Second Congressional District seat died, resulting in the postponement of the Nov. 3 election for the seat until Feb. 9. The seat is currently held by first-term Democrat Angie Craig, a member of the House Agriculture Committee. (Minnesota Secretary of State).
EU approves Bayer GE soy: The European Union approved for import XtendFlex soybeans, which are genetically engineered to tolerate three weedkillers — glyphosate, dicamba and glufosinate — opening the door for the sale of the seeds in the United States and Canada in 2021, said its maker, Bayer. (Farm Journal)
More meals with meat: One result of the coronavirus is that Americans are cooking more meals at home that feature meat — 4.6 per week compared to 3.9 in 2019 — and they have been forced to improvise because of shortages in the early months of the pandemic, says the Power of Meat report. (Food Industry Association)
