Bill Tomson

The nation’s top food and agricultural economists are issuing a study today analyzing the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis on all aspects of the food supply chain.

California’s produce farmers and processors are confused and concerned by a raft of letters from Chinese importers, demanding they provide guarantees in writing that their fruit and vegetables present no risk of spreading COVID-19, something that is not considered a threat by U.S. or international health agencies.

The tough farm economy, and the dim prospects for its improvement any time soon, has some lawmakers saying that it’s time to re-think U.S. farm policy.

Officials with ag chemical giant Bayer say they are standing behind the safety of Roundup and dicamba herbicides despite a massive $11.3 billion settlement of litigation over the products. Bayer CEO Werner Baumann also says the agreement with law firms representing nearly 100,000 Roundup plaintiffs and an undetermined number of dicamba plaintiffs should allay growers’ concerns about access to the herbicides..

China is reaching out to processors of meat, seafood and other food around the globe, asking them to provide proof of “mitigation efforts” to keep facilities free of COVID-19, industry and government sources tell Agri-Pulse.

The issue of climate change and, more specifically, the role farmers could play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be the focus of a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing today.

The Washington offices of the U.S. Trade Representative are buzzing as collaboration with China over the “phase one” deal continues and final preparations are made for the launch of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but Chief Agricultural Negotiator Gregg Doud said he expects both deals will lead to increased sales of U.S. farm products. 

In a big win for farm groups, a federal judge has issued a permanent injunction barring the state of California from placing a cancer warning on Roundup products, determining it would be “misleading” to do so.