Family Farm and Food Bytes
LEGENDARY AGRIBUSINESS BROADCASTER ORION SAMUELSON TO RETIRE IN DECEMBER (WGN) – WGN Radio announced that legendary agribusiness broadcaster Orion Samuelson will retire on December 31, shortly after celebrating his 60th anniversary with the station.
RESTAURANTS CLOSING 6 MONTHS INTO PANDEMIC (National Restaurant Association) - a survey released by the National Restaurant Association reports that nearly one in 6 restaurants (representing nearly 100,000 restaurants) has either closed permanently or long term and nearly 3 million employees are still out of work. The industry is on track to lose $240 billion in sales by the end of the year.
BEYOND MEAT TO CAPITALIZE ON PLANT-BASED POPULARITY, INTRODUCE BREAKFAST SAUSAGE IN 5,000 NEW LOCATIONS (FOX Business) – Beyond Meat will introduce its frozen breakfast sausage patties to nearly 5,000 locations, including retail giants Target, Walmart and Kroger, by the end of September.
HIGHER GROCERY PRICES COULD CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR (WUSA 9) – Some of the higher grocery store prices are likely here to say for the rest of the year, per The Bureau of Labor Statistics.
CHINA MAKES SLOW PROGRESS ON U.S. TRADE DEAL AS PURCHASES SLIDE (Bloomberg) – China reduced the pace of its purchases of U.S. goods in August, making slow progress in meeting the goals of its trade deal with the world’s biggest economy.
‘WONDER WEED’ GROWS CLOSER TO COMMERCIALIZATION (FarmWeek) - Fueled by a $13 million Department of Energy research grant at Illinois State University, the weed pennycrest is growing closer to commercialization as an oilseed cover crop, biofuels/jet fuel source and animal feed. The pennycress crop would grow from fall to spring, offering farmers an economic crop that over-winters.
AG ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR CONTINUED U.S. MEMBERSHIP IN WTO (FarmWeekNow) - A coalition of 62 U.S. agricultural and food organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), is asking for continued U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The organizations recently sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and leaders of the Senate Finance, House Ways and Means, and Senate and House Agriculture committees. Exports are fundamental to the success of U.S. agriculture and the WTO helps to create a level playing field for trade.More than 20% of U.S. agricultural production is exported and the WTO gives the U.S. most-favored nation treatment in 163 counties, representing more than 80% of the global economy.
AMERICAN FARM BUREAU CONVENTION GOES VIRTUAL (DTN) – One of the biggest agricultural conventions set for early next year has opted to go virtual.
FOOD BOX PROGRAM SUCCEEDS (FarmWeek) - More than 100 million food boxes have been distributed in support of American farmers and families affected by the Covid 19 pandemic through the USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program since May. In early September, USDA entered contract with 50 entities for the 3rd round of food box deliveries, which includes contracts to purchase up to $1 billion. The food boxes are delivered to people in need which also helps support American farmers in the process.
About Family Farm and Food Bytes: This is a collection of articles gathered from both mainstream and agriculture media and is designed to keep you informed as a member and leader within the Cook County Farm Bureau organization. The articles summarized above are not intended to represent Cook County Farm Bureau policy or positions, but rather to provide members an idea of what is being reported regionally, nationally, and globally.