Articles Tagged with ''covid-19''

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened global hunger, according to a new report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The FAO estimates that as many as 811 million people faced hunger in 2020, an increase of as much as 161 million people over 2019.

The Agriculture Department says it will spend more than $4 billion to address supply chain issues in the farm sector highlighted by the COVID pandemic and the recent cyberattack on meatpacker JBS.

Neil Dierks, who has been at the helm of the National Pork Producers Council for two decades, plans to retire by the end of the year.

Small businesses have a crucial role to play in ensuring COVID-19 vaccines get into the arms of rural Americans, who have been less eager than their urban and suburban counterparts to get the shots, panelists said at a virtual summit Thursday.

In this opinion piece, Julie Greene with Olam International discusses the need for partnerships so farmers to make a full and more prosperous recovery due to COVID-19.

USDA announced Wednesday plans to spend at least $6 billion on new pandemic aid programs that reach a broader swath of producers than previous efforts, while putting “a greater emphasis on outreach to small and socially disadvantaged producers, specialty crop and organic producers (and) timber harvesters.”

In this opinion piece, Rep. Jim Hagedorn, R-Minn., explains more about the recently introduced PPP Flexibility for Farmers and Ranchers Act, and how it will help boost the farmer, rancher and agricultural economy.

In mid-March 2020, when restaurants and foodservice mostly shut down due to COVID-19, the livestock and dairy industries experienced unparalleled disruption.

In this opinion piece, Becky Rasdall with the International Dairy Foods Association discusses the freight issues currently plaguing U.S. dairy and many other commodities and exporting industries.

President Joe Biden’s top COVID-19 advisers tell Agri-Pulse they believe that hesitancy to take the COVID-19 vaccine will fade over time as rural Americans learn about it from doctors and other people and see so many other people being vaccinated safely.