Two Georgia Congressional officials, Senator Jon Osoff and Rep. Sanford Bishop, have introduced legislation that would extend crop loss payments to seasonal and perishable crop producers. Payments would be triggered when a crop’s national average price drops below its five-year average reference price due to imports. The legislators complain that “unfair” crop imports from Central and South America are hurting their growers. It is true that U.S. imports of fruit and vegetable products have been rising sharply. But they appear to be adding to the domestic supply rather than replacing it as overall demand continues to rise.
Their complaint and proposed solution are interesting from several standpoints:
The...
What You Need to Know Today: Crude oil prices extended their rally today, supported by several developments, including escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure and growing concerns about supply disruptions. The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to remove 50 perc...
Key Takeaways: The agricultural trade surplus has become a sizable deficit: the balance swung from a $40.1 billion surplus in 2011 to a $40.7 billion deficit in 2025. Imports kept growing while exports lost momentum: between 2020 and 2025, agricultural imports increased 45 percent, compa...
USDA released its October Cattle on Feed report Friday, showing 11.4 million cattle in feedlots with capacity for 1,000 head or more, slightly below last year. September placements were the lowest for the month since records began in 1996, marking the third consecutive month of placements sett...
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