DOJ investigates beef packers, trade war trims investment growth and Foremost Farms closes cheese plant in Wisconsin.

Janet Kubat Willette, E-Content Editor

May 29, 2020

2 Min Read
NolanBerg11/flySnow/SteveOehlenschlager/ThinkstockPhotos

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

1. Shoppers are paying more for beef at the meat counter than they have in decades, while the companies that process the beef are paying farmers and ranchers low prices for cattle. The Department of Justice is investigating. – Politico

2. The two-year trade war between the U.S. and China has cut $1.7 trillion from American companies' market cap, according to the Federal Reserve. A new study found the trade conflict cut U.S. investment growth by .3 percentage points by the end of 2019. – Business Insider

3. Both corn and soybean planting progress are much faster than 2019’s historically sluggish start and maintain moderate leads over the prior five-year average, according to the latest USDA crop progress report. – Farm Futures

4. Los Alamos National Labs has developed a fuel that uses corn bran and other feedstocks instead of petroleum products. The fuel can be sourced directly from America's fields, rather than foreign sources. The fuel is made with a byproduct of the process for making corn-based ethanol. – Popular Mechanics

5. A University of Illinois assistant professor has developed a stress management program, HERD, to keep people healthy by finding positive ways of coping with stress. HERD stands for hobbies, exercise, relaxation and diversion. – Quad-Cities Online

6. Foremost Farms USA will close its Chilton, Wis., plant in July. The plant has 53 employees. The plant makes Italian cheeses including provolone, which is sold into the food-service market.  - Wisconsin Agriculturalist

7. A Pennsylvania State University Extension dairy educator monitored a dairy farm as it transitioned to an automated milking system. It took 12 hours to complete the first milking of all 60 cows. About a third of cows didn't let their milk down well the first day. By the fourth day, the system was running well. – Lincoln Journal-Star

And your bonus.

Take a virtual tour of the Lester F. Larsen Tractor Test and Power Museum in Nebraska, where you can learn about gasoline-powered tractor history, the story of the Nebraska Tractor Test Law and the tractors involved as well as the types of tests conducted at the lab and the instruments used in testing. – Nebraska Farmer

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