Farmers markets and SNAP redemption boosting local food sales

07/31/19 6:35 AM By Ed Maixner

Urban agriculture, internet marketing, SNAP purchase bonuses and more keep farmers markets and other direct sales on a growth path.

John Block Challenges We Face

The Coronavirus came out of nowhere and has crippled the world economy, killing thousands and thousands of people. The virus is not through yet either. Look at Brazil. President Trump just shut off travel from Brazil to the US. As our new cases have declined, things are getting better here. Our economy is starting to open up. We can’t stay locked down. China is where the virus originated. Loud voices screaming from both parties to see who can be tougher on China. China allowed the virus to spread all over the world and now they plan to put a heavy hand on Hong Kong. Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden says President Trump is too soft on China. What should the US response be? Will President Trump abandon the “Phase One” China trade deal? Let’s hope not. China has committed to buy $80 billion of ag products. President Trump negotiated a good deal for the US and especially agriculture. He made progress on protecting our intellectual property. Turn to the UK – Prime Minister Johnson wants a comprehensive trade deal with the US and he wants it done soon. We are ready but the fact that the UK has not finalized a trade deal in their separation from the European Union may be a problem. Speaking of the EU, they have adopted some sweeping goals for their agriculture industry that to me are shocking. They want to transform how Europeans farm and what they eat. They want 25% of their food production to be organic. They want to dramatically reduce the chemicals used in farming by 50%. Fertilizer is to be cut by 20%. If they don’t use some chemicals to kill the weeds, they will need a lot more labor to hoe the crops. They don’t use biotechnology now to keep the corn borer and root worms at bay. That’s one reason why they use more pesticides than we do. Their goal is to reduce carbon emissions and improve water quality. That’s good. But here is what will happen. They will produce less food. We all know that organic farming delivers less food. If the farmers of the world don’t accept and utilize new technology, yields could be 30% less. Who is going to starve? Of course, the world could cut down more forest land in order to produce enough food. I don’t think the EU plan makes much sense. Until next week, this is John Block reporting from Washington, D.C. If you would like to review my radio shows going back more than 20 years, just go on-line to www.johnblockreports.com.

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Opinions

Opinion: Put This Bipartisan Legislation to Bolster our Food Supply Chain in Any Additional COVID-19 Relief Package

Senators Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Angus King, I-Maine, Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Joe Manchin, D-W.V., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Tina Smith, D-Minn., John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Michael Enzi, R-Wyo., introduce the New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act. A bipartisan bill, which would allow meat and poultry products inspected by state Meat and Poultry Inspection (MPI) programs to be sold across state lines.

Agri-Pulse TV

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Agri-Pulse TV

05.22.2020

Washington Week in Review: Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., talks CFAP, farm labor, and more

The Department of Agriculture unveiled the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program this week, giving producers a look at how the $16 billion in direct payments will be dispersed. California Democrat Jimmy Panetta joined Agri-Pulse to discuss how the program and other key farm policy developments will be important to his district.

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