Farm & Food File
A syndicated column by Alan Guebert
Farm Bill
Crop Insurance Goes Global
Posted on November 23, 2015
It was the legislative equivalent of pulling an elephant out of a hat as the stage curtain was about to fall.
The day before the House of Representatives voted 266-167 to approve a long-sought, two-year federal spending deal, House and Senate ag committee members complained that the proposed deal—unseen and unaudited—contained an eight-year, $3-billion cut to […]
Tweet, Tweet
Posted on November 4, 2015
The tweeting heard by U.S. farmers and ranchers this fall isn’t that loquacious social media birdie Twitter. Instead, it’s canaries—coal mine canaries, to be exact—and their song is neither short nor sweet.
In fact, it’s downright dour. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, this year’s 36 percent fall in net farm income is the biggest […]
Free Trade’s Cheap Talk
Posted on November 4, 2015
Most U.S. farm and commodity groups aren’t clear on the exact elements of the just agreed-upon Trans-Pacific Partnership. That lack of understanding, though, hasn’t stopped any from praising this “new, high-standard trade agreement that levels the playing field for American workers and American businesses.”
For example, our good friends at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association say […]
Surprise! (Not)
Posted on October 21, 2015
The recent history of the third most powerful constitutional office in the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, is so checkered that you have to seriously examine the background of anyone who seeks it.
For example, in June 1989, Texan Jim Wright, who had been Speaker for two years and change, resigned when […]
Diversity and Resilience versus Corn and Soybeans
Posted on October 14, 2015
By car, Quebec City, Quebec, is 1,840 miles from Bismarck, ND. I know because in the last two months I have seen every mile of highway between North Dakota’s state capital on the Missouri to Quebec’s provincial capital on the St. Lawrence.
Interestingly, as you drive west to east across arguably some of the New World’s […]
Idaho’s “Ag Gag” Bagged
Posted on September 2, 2015
In a relatively short, toughly-worded decision issued Aug. 3, a federal judge in Idaho struck down that state’s year-old “ag gag” law that sought to “criminalize” undercover, or whistleblower, investigations of livestock facilities suspected of animal abuse.
The action by B. Lynn Winmill, chief judge of Idaho’s U.S. District Court, is the first time any “ag […]
“What Makes You an Expert?”
Posted on August 4, 2015
“I just read your column,” noted an Illinois critic of an early May piece that outlined a proposed, multi-billion dollar merger between the key players in the prepared foods sector.
“I have just one question,” the emailer went on, “what makes you an expert in the Sysco attempt to buy US Foods?”
Ah, blessed readers; they are […]
Nature’s Calling; Anyone Listening?
Posted on July 15, 2015
Question: What came first, the chicken or the egg?
Answer: Neither; both arrived after a qualified veterinarian declared their farm disease-free following a complete depopulation because of an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI.
It’s no joke.
On June 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced that 192 “detections” of […]
Got Guts? Bet on TPP
Posted on July 15, 2015
Let’s go out on a small limb and make a big prediction: Not only will the U.S. Senate vote to give this president and the next one fast track trade authority, so too will the U.S. House of Representatives.
Moreover, and since we’re already on the limb, here are two more predictions: First, both the House […]
American Exceptionalism–Except for What We Grow
Posted on July 15, 2015
In the chaos that surrounded Congress leaving Washington, D.C. for a flag-waving Memorial Day holiday, your House Ag Committee found time May 20 to vote to kill Country of Origin Labeling, or COOL, for beef, pork, and chicken sold in the U.S.
If you carnivores out here are keeping score, the Ag Committee vote was the […]
Follow Alan on Twitter
So much amorality going on in this total capture of fed & state gov’t by Big Meat during Pandemic Spring 2020 that it’s hard to keep up each sides’ immorality. https://t.co/pC9mVaU9oF
This: The Pork Checkoff cut mandatory rates by 12.5% in hope the savings would voluntarily flow into CAFO-supporting lawsuits by Big Pig for Big Pig. Does Big Ag ever think about what the public-its customers-want? Terrible plan, great reporting. https://t.co/3UOTixbqrf
Exactly @donpcarr: Not one idea old or new in this trope-filled sermon of meaninglessness. The real message here is that Big Ag will fight for Big Ag in climate change debates & everyone else needs to butt out. https://t.co/MhmHdEdpAX
There’s little that’s cheap in America’s ‘cheap,’ food system. Someone or something-like gov’t or our natural world-always pays yet rarely is acknowledged. That’s especially so in the highly industrialized meat & poultry sectors. https://t.co/8nWLlCSR9p
What he didn’t say is Tyson’s profits are 140% higher this quarter than yr ago. Over same period, meat demand isn’t up 140%, farm prices aren’t up 140% and inflation isn’t up 140%. Only Tyson profits-and its corporate BS-are up 140%. https://t.co/s7frvmdeky