Threats to Food System A risk assessment of the impact of COVID19 on the U.S. food system includes the following:
Only a small handful of countries have announced export bans on things like wheat and flour, items not needed in the U.S. Foods that are imported by Americans include high value products like cheese and wine from Europe, fresh fruits and vegetables from Mexico and Central and South America, plus low grade beef.
U.S. farmers are forecast to produce record levels of some commodities this year.
To prevent food borne illnesses, food processing companies are already set up as a microbiological control point (workers wear gloves, masks, do daily washdowns, etc.).
Warehouses are stocked with 7 -9 months of shelf-st...
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...
Total Red Meat & Poultry September 2026 total red meat and poultry stocks totaled 1.97 billion pounds, down 1.4 percent from August despite typically increasing 0.8 percent during the month, and were 1.5 percent below September 2025 levels. The decline pushed total inventories to a new five...
