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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Global food prices hit an all-time high in February, led by sharp increases in vegetable oil and dairy prices as well higher costs for grains, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
The nearly week-long Russian invasion of Ukraine is threatening to restrict already tight global supplies of grain and fertilizer as Black Sea distribution hubs and supply lines shut down amid the chaos and violence that is only expected to worsen as Russian aggression intensifies and Western sanctions broaden.
Leaders of major crop groups say the farm bill commodity programs won’t adequately protect their margins at a time of skyrocketing input costs, but the organizations aren’t ready to propose specific changes.
Surging commodity prices have pushed crop insurance guarantees to record highs or near-record highs for farmers in the Midwest and Plains states this spring, which will help them protect their revenue against the soaring input costs.
The war in Ukraine may impede the country’s ability to export millions of tons of wheat and corn to China, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey and elsewhere, and U.S. grain could be called on to fill the supply gap.
Farmers will be banned from applying chlorpyrifos to food crops starting Monday unless farm groups can persuade an appeals court to intervene, and experts say many growers lack reliable alternatives for controlling insect pests.
China continues to be a “difficult and unpredictable market for U.S. agricultural exporters” because it flouts international trade standards set by the World Trade Organization, according to a new report to Congress from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
A coalition of farm groups are suing to block the Environmental Protection Agency from prohibiting the use of chlorpyrifos on food crops, starting Feb. 28.
Modernizing wheat breeding to prepare the major food crop for changing climate conditions is the goal of a new five-year $15 million national research project.
The Biden administration spent much of 2021 assessing the trade landscape left by the Trump administration, but the U.S. ag sector is looking for a new agenda in 2022 as uncertainties, concerns and opportunities lie ahead.