The National Grazing Lands Coalition will hold its 8th National Grazing Lands Conference (8NGLC) at the Embassy Suites Kingston Resorts in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Dec. 6-9, 2021. But, they want folks who have yet to register for this in person event to know there are only a few days left to take advantage of the lower rate. Make sure to …
USDA Considering Waivers for Slower Pork Plant Processing Lines
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the USDA is working on a proposal for a waiver system for hog plants forced by a federal court to slow down their processing lines. Waivers that would allow plants to speed up processing lines again could renew concerns about worker safety but boost profits for pork companies and farmers. Vilsack didn’t specify what those …
New USDA Crop and Livestock Reports Coming
Traders are anxiously awaiting USDA’s next round of reports which should give us a better idea of the size and market prospects for the major crops. And as Gary Crawford reports, USDA will also release revised forecasts for the livestock sector. USDA will release the new round of crop and livestock forecasts on Tuesday, October 12, noon EDT. Sponsored ContentWhat …
Signup Deadline for Pandemic Livestock Program is Tuesday
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) wants to remind livestock producers who suffered losses during the pandemic due to insufficient access to processing, the signup deadline for the Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program (PLIP) is October 12, 2021. PLIP provides payments to producers for losses of livestock or poultry depopulated from March 1, 2020, through December 26, 2020. Here is Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator …
Price Spread for Pork Products Increases as Processing Plant Labor Shortages Continue
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen longstanding labor shortages in the U.S. pork processing industry. Because the production of deboned products requires more labor, associated prices are higher than bone-in product prices, which have smaller labor requirements, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. When labor shortages are severe, as in the spring of 2020, when COVID-19-related infections of processing plant …
August Beef Exports Top $1 Billion
U.S. beef exports set another new value record in August, topping the $1 billion mark for the first time. Information released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) also notes pork exports saw another strong month in August, remaining ahead of the record pace set last year. Led by record shipments to …
More States See Record Land Prices
Many states are experiencing record land prices across the Midwest. Aggressive bidding continued into summer and the fall selling season, with new high prices often being reached in Iowa. But the land market is also strong in most other crop regions. Farmers National Company recently sold a client’s land in northeast Nebraska at a simulcast auction for $12,950-$13,400 per acre, …
ERS Study Shows Meatpackers Role in COVID Spread
A study from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) shows the role meatpacking plants played in the spread of COVID-19. In what ERS describes as a working paper, the study outlined 49 U.S. non-metro counties in which 20 percent or more of employment is in meatpacking, defined as meatpacking-dependent counties. This represents 41 percent of all nonmetro counties with employment in …
USDA Initiative to Create More and Better Market Opportunities
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), as part of their efforts to address food systems challenges arising from the pandemic as well as those going back decades, has announced plans for another $100 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The funding would leverage hundreds of millions more in lending through community and private sector lenders to expand …
Short-term Extension of Livestock Price Reporting Keeps Reform Issue Alive
A short-term extension for Mandatory Livestock Price Reporting approved by Congress as part of a temporary stop-gap bill to keep the government open, allows more time for possible market reforms. Lawmakers voted for the extension as the authorization for existing mandatory reporting of livestock prices was about to expire, and temporary funding was needed to avert an end-of-fiscal-year government shutdown. …