West Coast ports in the U.S. started negotiating a new labor contract just over a year ago. While working without a new contract in place isn’t unheard of, the contract has now been expired for over 10 months. A report from the U.S. Meat Export Federation says the labor uncertainty is having an impact on…… MORE
Category Archives: Agriculture News
USDA Extends Deadline for Revenue Loss Programs
USDA is extending deadlines for the Emergency Relief Program Phase Two and the Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program to July 14. The goal is to give producers more time to apply for the assistance. Also, USDA’s Farm Service Agency is partnering with nine organizations to provide educational and technical assistance to agricultural producers and provide assistance…… MORE
Supreme Court’s WOTUS Decision Reaction
Agriculture groups in California and across the country, continue reacting positively to the Supreme Court’s recent unanimous ruling in a case that rejected the Biden Administration’s Waters of the United States Rule. California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson is applauding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision. “California Farm Bureau appreciates the Supreme Court’s decision,” Johansson said. “Our farmers and ranchers…… MORE
Meat Exports Show Mixed Results
A USDA report says a comparison between first-quarter 2023 exports of seven animal products with the exports from the same time last year shows some improvement. Four of the categories were year-over-year higher and three were lower so far during this year. In the first quarter of 2023, lamb and mutton exports were up 31%,…… MORE
House Ag Spending Bill Revealed
The House Agriculture Appropriations bill provides $26.3 billion for total funding. But that’s $532 million below the 2023 funding level. The bill provides $17.1 billion to the Department of Agriculture, which is $11.7 billion below the budget request. Conservative leaders in the House say the bill reins in wasteful spending by redirecting billions in American…… MORE
Farmer Use of Automation Survey
Growers now spend an average of $500,000 a year on automation in response to the persistent ag labor shortage. Western Growers discovered the data in its Specialty Crop Automation Report. The report, which tracks and measures industry progress in harvest automation across the fresh produce industry, is part of the Western Growers Global Harvest Automation…… MORE
Prop 12 Animal Housing Rules Restarting
The California Department of Food and Agriculture issued this response following The US Supreme Court upholding California’s Proposition 12, an animal confinement initiative approved by voters in 2018. “CDFA is grateful that the United States Supreme Court has firmly upheld the people’s will in its decision in the National Pork Producers case. Throughout the country,…… MORE
Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Prop 12
The California prop measure includes banning the sale of pork from pigs that are kept in tightly confined spaces. The justices voted 5-4 to uphold a lower court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau that sought to invalidate the law. The groups argued that…… MORE
Apples and Oranges Top Fruit Choices
Apples held the top spot for total fruit available for consumption in 2021, the newest numbers available. Americans consumed an average of 1.7 gallons of apple juice, roughly nine pounds of fresh apples, and a total of 3.1 pounds of canned, dried, and frozen apples. Among the top seven consumed fruits in 2021, apples were…… MORE
Proposed Tinplate Steel Tariffs Could Impact Food Industry And Consumers
The Consumer Brands Association says implementing proposed tariffs of up to 300% on tinplate steel imports would increase the cost of canned foods and products by up to 30%. The association released two studies on the proposal, which threaten nearly 40,000 union and non-union manufacturing jobs. The economic impact studies bolster Consumer Brands’ efforts to…… MORE
