Hurricane Helene wallops Georgia cotton crop
Three out of every 10 acres of cotton in Georgia, the No. 2 cotton-growing state in the country, was in poor or very poor condition following Hurricane Helene, said the USDA on Monday. Before the hurricane, just one in 10 acres fell into those categories in the weekly Crop Progress report and 59 percent were in good or excellent condition, compared to 34 percent now.
Distressed borrowers get $250 million in USDA assistance
Some 4,650 financially distressed farmers who owe money on USDA direct and guaranteed loans will share $250 million in payments from the government, said the Agriculture Department on Monday. With the assistance, “more than 4,600 producers across the country will see another production season,” said Zach Ducheneaux, Farm Service Agency administrator.
California becomes bird flu leader with 82 infected herds
Just five weeks after its first outbreak of bird flu in dairy cattle, California has more affected herds than any other state. According to a USDA database, California has 82 infected herds, an increase of 26 herds in two days. The California Department of Public Health said a third human case of bird flu was identified in the Central Valley; two other cases were confirmed there last week.
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Trump’s vow to deport millions of immigrants would decimate the meatpacking workforce
Today, nearly half of the people who slaughter, butcher and package beef, pork and poultry in America were born elsewhere. In some packing houses, more than four dozen languages are spoken. In some, Somali, Sudanese, and Burmese refugees alone account for as much as a third of the workforce. The fact is, America’s largest meat producers are dependent on the immigrants Mr. Trump is threatening to round up and deport. Meat processors are only just recovering from the ravages of the pandemic. This would push them to the breaking point — and perhaps crash the whole food system.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Aging dams: Nearly 12,000 small, rural dams were built across the United States with USDA funding, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. As climate change brings more intense storms, the question is whether to strengthen or tear down the aging structures. (Wisconsin Watch)
Global river flows slow: Amid record heat in 2023, global river flows were the lowest in the 33 years of data collected by a UN weather agency; the Mississippi, Amazon, Ganges, and Mekong river basins were among those affected. (Reuters)
Iowa seizes chicken farm: Under an emergency court order, the Iowa Department of Agriculture took over the feeding and care of 1.3 million broiler chickens owned by a company that declared bankruptcy and said it didn’t have the money to buy feed for the chickens. (Meat and Poultry)
