Food a factor in highest inflation rate in three decades
With the U.S. inflation rate at 6.2 percent — the highest it’s been since 1990 — President Biden said the government was on the alert for price gouging as it worked to remove bottlenecks in the supply chain. Inflation has been on the rise since February, and soaring food prices, often led by meat, are an important factor.
Senate vote near for USDA farm subsidy and conservation chief
Three months ago, the Senate Agriculture Committee recommended Senate approval of Robert Bonnie to run the USDA’s farm subsidy and land stewardship programs, which cost more than $10 billion a year. The nomination is set for a floor vote next week, after a series of delays forced by senators who put “holds” on it.
Today’s Quick Hits
Dicamba resistance: Researchers have confirmed the discovery of dicamba-resistant waterhemp in central Illinois and north-central Tennessee five years after the chemical was approved by the EPA for use against invasive weeds that tolerate other herbicides. (DTN/Progressive Farmer)
Bad news for bumblebees: Climate change may be upsetting the nutritional balance of floral nectar consumed by bumblebees, which are important pollinators of such food crops as tomatoes and peppers. (Phys.org)
Biggest U.S. solar farm: The aptly named Mammoth Solar project, scheduled to begin operating in 2024, will be set on 13,000 acres, or 20 square miles, of farmland in northwestern Indiana. (Indianapolis Star)
Line-speed trial: The USDA will run a one-year trial of faster-moving slaughter lines at some pork plants to test the effectiveness of new worker safety measures. (Reuters)
Monarch comeback: Migratory western monarch butterflies, largely absent from coastal California in 2020, are back in the thousands at their overwintering sites, an encouraging sign for a species that has suffered huge population losses since the 1990s. (San Francisco Chronicle)
