7 ag stories you might have missed this week - March 20, 2020

A perfect tsunami for the ethanol industry, locusts in Pakistan and coronavirus.

Janet Kubat Willette, E-Content Editor

March 20, 2020

2 Min Read
NolanBerg11/flySnow/SteveOehlenschlager/ThinkstockPhotos

Missed some ag news this week? Here's seven stories to catch you up.

1. Americans for Free Trade, a group of more than 160 business associations, urged President Trump to consider relief from duties as one of the emergency measures his administration is rolling out, but Trump has so far declined to roll back the tariffs. – Farm Futures

2. About 250,000 workers came to the U.S. on H-2A visas last year, the majority of them from Mexico. They've become an increasingly important piece of America's food industry. - NPR

3. Ongoing trade disputes, small refinery exemption uncertainty, demand destruction from Covid-19 and an oil price war between OPEC and Russia has conspired together in not just creating the perfect storm for the ethanol industry, but a perfect tsunami. – Farm Futures

4. The coronavirus relief package signed by President Trump on Wednesday provides $500 million in food aid for pregnant women and mothers under the WIC program, $250 million to deliver meal packages to seniors and $400 million for USDA to buy up commodities and distribute them to food banks. – Politico

5. Pakistan is struggling to deal with an infestation of locusts. The country has sought help from China, which has offered pesticide, training and equipment. More than 140,000 acres of crops have been damaged in Pakistan alone since last April. – Farm Futures

6. A federal farm bill grant of $2.5 million will boost by one-third the amount of private land open to hunters in Minnesota. – Star Tribune

7. South Dakota Farmers Union president Doug Sombke is asking for an investigation into the possibility of price fixing by the nation's meat packers.  – Aberdeen News

And your bonus.

Lee Hennessy tried Hollywood, the wine industry and digital media, but he found happiness at Moxie Ridge Farm and Creamery. Moxie Ridge specializes in goat's milk cheese, but also features fresh eggs, pork, and a flock of Romney and Scottish Blackface cross sheep and lambs that produce both fiber and meat. – American Agriculturalist

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