White House is working ‘from both ends’ to resolve ag export disruptions
The Biden administration is employing a multi-pronged strategy to speed agricultural exports through congested ports, and a project in Oakland is one piece of it, said White House port envoy John Porcari on Monday. The government will pay part of the cost for a 25-acre “pop up” site near the port that will be dedicated to loading farm exports into scarce containers.
How many species of trees? 73,000 worldwide
Some 64,000 species of trees are known worldwide, but that’s nowhere close to the real number, according to a research project involving 100 scientists. In a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists estimate 9,400 species are yet to be discovered.
Epic floods in Pacific Northwest revive long-running dispute about how to manage a river
In November, when a string of catastrophic storms hit the Pacific Northwest, the Nooksack River flooded, submerging farming communities in both the U.S. and Canada. By the time the waters subsided, thousands of farmers and farmworkers had lost their livelihoods—particularly in British Columbia—and a long-running dispute over how best to manage the Nooksack had gotten a lot worse. It’s a fight that pits farmers against Native communities, the U.S. against Canada, and the demands of development against the demands of conservation.
Today’s Quick Hits
‘Millennial Farmer’ fame: Minnesota farmer Zach Johnson, with nearly 900,000 followers on YouTube as “Millennial Farmer,” “is the unquestioned star of so-called FarmTube with videos that include the much-watched “Tractor Stuck in the MUD.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Kemp helps Perdue: Through his continued overhaul of the Board of Regents, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is helping former agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue lock in support to become chancellor of the state university system. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Brazil soy shrivels: Instead of the record crop that was initially expected, Brazil will harvest the smallest soybean crop in six years, 128.5 million tonnes, due to punishingly hot and dry weather in southern states and excessive rain in Mato Grosso do Sul, the top soy state. (Reuters)
Orange juice squeeze: Florida is harvesting its smallest orange crop since the 1940s at the same time that Americans are rediscovering a taste for orange juice, and the result is higher prices as the pandemic persists. (Washington Post)
Tax-free farm income: As part of a proposed tax package, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds would eliminate taxes on income that retired farmers receive from renting their land for cash—a step that could discourage them from selling land to newcomers. (Bleeding Heartland)
