Food prices rise faster than overall U.S. inflation rate
The increases are seemingly small – an additional 27 cents for a pound of ground chuck at the grocery store, for example – but they are part of a brisk 3.5 percent increase in food prices since the pandemic hit the United States last March. The increase in food prices outpaced the overall U.S. inflation rate of 2.6 percent, the government said on Tuesday.
USDA announces $330 million in pandemic assistance
Textile mills and specialty crops will get three-fourths of the $330 million announced by the USDA on Tuesday in a broad-ranging program to help producers and the food supply chain recover from the financial impact of the pandemic. In addition, the package earmarked $75 million in grants to help low-income Americans buy fruits and vegetables.
Today’s Quick Hits
Poultry plant settlement: Poultry processor Mountaire agreed to pay a total of $205 million to resolve state and federal lawsuits over contaminated groundwater near its plant in Millsboro, Delaware, where residents had high rates of disease and sickness. (Washington Post)
In Iowa, Rep. Axne mulls options: Rep. Cindy Axne, a member of the House Agriculture Committee and the only Democrat in Iowa’s congressional delegation, said she is considering a run for the Senate, for governor or for another term in the House but, “I’m not making any decisions right now.” (Storm Lake Times)
New pollinator commitments: To preserve bees and other pollinating insects, Walmart, the largest U.S. food retailer, said it will require, by 2025, all of its fresh produce and floral products to come from growers who follow integrated pest management practices, reducing the use of pesticides. The company will also encourage produce suppliers to create or maintain pollinator habitats on 3 percent of their land. (Walmart)
Nuts for cows: In trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, some dairy farmers in California are feeding their cows leftover almond shells from nearby orchards, a step that reduces their feed costs and the need to grow forage crops like alfalfa that require lots of water and pesticides. (InsideClimate News)
Organic soybean uncertainties: Purchasers say they are struggling to buy organic soybeans on the cash market, although data indicate supplies are not tight following a strong harvest last fall. (Mercaris)
Four-foot rabbit missing: Darius, which at four-feet was declared the world’s longest rabbit in 2010, is missing from his owner’s garden in a small English village and police are treating the disappearance as an abduction. (New York Times)
