Family Farm and Food Bytes
Kelsy Reynolds reflects on her life experiences in front of her helicopter she uses as part of her aerial application business, RAS Aviation. (Photo by Tammie Sloup).
AMERICAN CHEESE IS BEING DEVOURED IN ASIA, EXPORT DATA SHOW – U.S. exports of American cheese -- including the processed staple coveted for melty grilled cheese sandwiches -- are surging as buyers in Asia devour the stuff. (Bloomberg)
Jerry Costello II, Director of Agriculture
U.S.-EU DEAL WILL BRING SOME RELIEF TO STEEL AND ALUMINUM PRICES, AND EU TARIFFS – Agricultural and business groups on Sunday largely stated their support for a deal struck by President Joe Biden's administration and the European Union to dial back tariffs on EU steel and aluminum while also dropping EU's retaliatory tariffs against U.S. goods such as motorcycles and whiskey. (DTN)
SUPERMARKETS PLAY SUPPLY-CHAIN ‘WHACK-A-MOLE’ TO KEEP PRODUCTS ON SHELVES – Supermarket chains are revamping their operations to navigate persistent product shortages, expanding storage space and curbing discounts to make sure they don’t run out. (Wall Street Journal)
GROWING AGRITOURISM IN ILLINOIS – Agritourism isn’t just pumpkin patches and corn mazes. From a pick-your-own-flowers tour in Spring to Christmas tree and reindeer farms in late fall, over the last twenty years the sector has become nearly a year-round industry in Illinois. (WTAX)
WHY 1 MILLION MUSHROOMS ARE GETTING DESTROYED EVERY WEEK – 60% of America's mushrooms come from one small Pennsylvania town: Kennett Square. But because of strict immigration laws and high turnover, there aren't enough mushroom pickers. It's forced farmers across Kennett Square to kill off mushrooms they can't pick in time, causing millions of dollars in losses. (Business Insider)
USDA INCREASES FORECAST FOR CORN USE IN ETHANOL – The USDA increased its forecast for 2021-’22 corn use in ethanol in its latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, released Nov. 9. The agency is also predicting a record corn yield of 177 bushels per acre. (Ethanol Producer Magazine)
US CONSUMER PRICES SOARED 6.2% IN PAST YEAR, MOST SINCE 1990 – Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.2% in October compared with a year earlier as surging costs for food, gas and housing left Americans grappling with the highest inflation rate since 1990. (NBC Chicago)
KFC LAUNCHING ORDER-AHEAD QUICK PICK-UP SERVICE AS DRIVE-THRU WAIT TIMES INCREASE TO MORE THAN 6 MINUTES – KFC announced the launch of its Quick Pick-Up service on Tuesday, which will allow customers to order ahead and quickly grab their food upon arrival at a KFC location. (Market Watch).
DEL MONTE FOODS, INC. DOUBLES DOWN ON UPCYCLED FOOD MOVEMENT WITH INDUSTRY'S FIRST LINE OF UPCYCLED CERTIFIED GREEN BEANS – Del Monte Foods, Inc. is helping to lead the upcycled food movement with the industry's first canned vegetable product to be Upcycled Certified by the Upcycled Food Association, the world's only third-party certification program for upcycled food ingredients and products. (Business Insider).
AREA HEALTH CARE WORKERS REACH OUT TO FARMERS FACING POST-PANDEMIC STRESS – Incidents of farmer/farm worker suicides are up significantly, according to a 2020 study by the Center for Disease Control over previous data from 2016 studies. Of the groups studied, Agriculture workers ranked in the top five groups with the greatest risk. (Geneseo Republic).