Food inflation rate slows to U.S. average
After outrunning the rest of the U.S. economy for 19 months, food price inflation has slowed to 3.7 percent, the same rate as the nation overall, said the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday. Dairy prices fell 0.2 percent on an annualized basis while meat, fish, poultry, egg, fruit, and vegetable prices rose modestly.
Huge is becoming normal for U.S. crops
U.S. farmers are harvesting their fourth soybean crop in a row that exceeds 4 billion bushels and the second corn crop in three years to top 15 billion bushels, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday. Until a few years ago, those milestones were out of reach but they may be common in coming years.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
The farm reporter and the EV: Charging stations for electric vehicles are “too far apart, too few and not universally well maintained,” writes ag reporter Christopher Vondracek, who uses the word “adventurous” to describe his experiences with an EV in rural Minnesota. (Star Tribune)
New WOTUS lawsuit looms: A new lawsuit challenging the EPA’s “waters of the United States” rule on protection of wetlands is expected this fall from the 24 states that went to court over an earlier version of the rule. (DTN/Progressive Farmer)
1890 Foundation taps Bronaugh: Jewell Bronaugh, former Agriculture deputy secretary, will begin work on Jan. 1 as chief executive of the 1890 Universities Foundation, which supports education, research, and extension activities at historically Black land-grant universities. (1890 Foundation)
Pilot program for bison meat: A pilot project will purchase locally produced bison meat from small and medium-size herds for distribution to three tribes through a USDA public nutrition program. (USDA)
Teens operating hazardous equipment: Monogram Meat Snacks, a maker of beef jerky, cheese, and sausage, paid a civil penalty of $140,164 for violating child labor laws by employing 11 teenagers, including nine who operated hazardous equipment. (Food Safety News)
