Graphic of the Week
GRAPHIC: With farm business moving online, two-thirds of farmers own a computer
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Since 2019, the portion using the internet to purchase seed, fertilizer and other supplies increased by 5%.
Government
Right To Repair Mandate From Biden Might Help Farmers Fix Their Own Equipment
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In the mounting battle between manufacturers trying to protect their technology from intellectual theft and customers who want more freedom to fix things when that technology breaks down, the Biden administration has won some gratitude in farm country.
Coronavirus
As Trusted Voices, Farmers Could Be Key To Boosting Rural Vaccination Rates
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Boosting COVID-19 vaccination rates in rural America is now less a problem of access and more an issue of trust.
Graphic of the Week
GRAPHIC: Very few farmers are millennials, and, of those, the vast majority are white
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Young producers, farmers and ranchers who are 35 and younger represented 9% of all American producers in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Nearly all, 96%, of the young producers were white. This left 14,111 young producers of color in the U.S. Socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, those who have experienced racial or ethnic prejudice, have additional funding opportunities through the USDA’s 2501 program.
About 80% of the young producers started farming in the last 10 years and about 50% started in the last five years. Most young producers reported a primary occupation that was not farming in 2017. The USDA’s Farm Service Agency offers support to beginning farmers and ranchers through direct and guaranteed loan programs.
Opinion
Opinion: Feds and the Courts need to deliver certainty on dicamba
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So, to summarize, environmentalists hate the dicamba registrations. Farmers hate the dicamba registrations. A huge turnover at the top of EPA is underway due to last November's elections. And the clock is ticking on the start of the 2021 planting season. If that's not a whole bunch of uncertainty surrounding dicamba, I don't know what is. Time is of the essence and the feds and courts need to quickly provide guidance.
Wellness on the Farm
Farmers already felt isolated. The COVID-19 pandemic made it worse.
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The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated farmers’ feelings of isolation, according to a recent survey from the American Farm Bureau Federation. The percentage who said social isolation affects farmers’ mental health jumped more than 20% in 2020 compared to 2019.
#agalerts
Food supply issues
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Back in March, the coronavirus started triggering infection hotspots in and around meatpacking plants, sickening and killing workers. As local public health authorities pushed giant meat conglomerates to close infected facilities, industry executives warned that doing so was “pushing our country perilously close to the edge in terms of our meat supply,” as Kenneth M. Sullivan, CEO of Smithfield, the world’s largest pork producer, declared in a April 12 press release.
#agalerts
#AgAlerts: Coronavirus; carbon; EU farm program and trade deal
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The USDA announced today that 14 states have received waivers to “congregate feeding” requirements. To date, Washington, California, Maryland, Alaska, Utah, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Maine, Kansas, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Virginia have all received waivers.
#agalerts
#AgAlerts: AI; milk monopoly; farm bankruptcies
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Not good news for the dairy farmers. After Dean announced it had filed for bankruptcy, Dairy Farmers of America said it was in “advanced discussions” on an acquisition. A merger would all but guarantee lower income for farmers.
Opinion
Opinion: Jury still out on whether Costco’s chicken experiment will fly
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Costco sells its rotisserie chicken at the back of its stores at a loss to lure customers into the story to buy other things. Up until now those chickens by and large have come from Big Ag poultry producers like Tyson, Pilgrims Pride, and Perdue. But Costco is now bringing chicken production in house.