Voters to decide constitutional ‘right to food’ in Maine
Maine enacted the country’s first food sovereignty law in 2017 to encourage food self-sufficiency. Now, its voters will decide whether to declare a first-in-the-nation constitutional right to food “including the right to save and exchange seeds and the right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing.”
Pandemic payments to farmers top $30 billion
Farmers and ranchers have received nearly $30.6 billion in coronavirus relief payments in the past 17 months, according to USDA data released on Monday. Pandemic assistance is a major element in farm income this year, as it was in 2020, and is projected to equal one-fourth of net farm income.
Today’s Quick Hits
Deere vote Tuesday: Striking UAW members at Deere and Co. were scheduled to vote today on a proposed contract that includes a 10-percent pay raise in its first year and improved healthcare for retirees. (WOI)
‘Major’ U.S.-EU partnership: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and EU agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski will make a “major announcement” of U.S. and EU partnership during Vilsack’s visit to Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday, said the USDA. (Ag Insider)
Fertilizer tariffs challenged: With fertilizer prices skyrocketing, four farm groups and the Agricultural Retailers Association filed a legal brief asking the U.S. Court of International Trade to overturn tariffs imposed on phosphate fertilizer from Morocco. (DTN/Progressive Farmer)
Faster than anticipated: Climate change is fueling more frequent and more intense wildfires in the U.S. West and the effect is happening sooner than expected, say researchers. (Los Angeles Times)
Wheat prices soar: Wheat prices at the Chicago futures exchange reached their highest level since February 2013 on Monday amid rising expectations of relatively tight supplies following poor harvests and an export tax imposed by Russia. (Reuters)
