Ag in the News

05/21/2008

National

Dozens of sentences handed down in Agriprocessors raid
Of nearly 400 employees of Agriprocessors Inc. arrested in the raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement just a week ago, 77 have been sentenced to five months' in prison, followed by the likelihood of deportation, according to the Des Moines Register. MORE!

FSIS releases compliance guideline for salmonella and campylobacter
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has posted the second edition of the compliance guideline for salmonella and has added guidelines for controlling campylobacter. MORE!

Seaboard Foods adds pork loin backribs to PrairieFresh line
Seaboard Foods announced the introduction of new cook-in bag pork loin backribs that can be cooked from fresh or frozen in one hour to its line of PrairieFresh Prime products. MORE!

Chick-fil-A moves to larger tenders, adds to menu
Chick-fil-A has announced several changes to its menu, including a size change for its chicken strips and a new salad. MORE!

Technomic downgrades foodservice growth forecast
The bad news for the foodservice industry keeps getting worse: Research firm Technomic revised its 2008 foodservice industry growth forecast downward to an anemic 2.2 percent from its original 3.6 percent forecast in January. MORE!

Wrap Up

Overnight price strength. Corn futures wee 3 to 4 cents higher, soybeans 11 to 14 cents higher and Chicago wheat 6 to 7 cents higher in overnight trade.

Quick farm bill action. The farm bill has reached the White House, our sources advise, and House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) told us he has assurances President Bush will act quickly on the legislation. Bush is still expected to veto the measure. That, according to Peterson, will bring quick action to override the expected veto yet this week. 

ACRE backers. In response to USDA analysis of the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) farm program option contained in the farm bill, the American Farmland Trust and National Corn Growers Association have issued their analysis of the program. USDA was critical of the potential the program has to significantly boost farm program spending. The two groups defend the option that would become available to producers starting with the 2009 crop year. Want to read what they're up in arms about? Use this link to check Jim Wiesemeyer's Washington Insight column. Even the Washington Post read it!

CFTC challenged. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Tuesday took a look at the futures market and the role speculators have played in the markets. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) economist Jeff Harris found himself on the defensive regarding his testimony that the agency doesn't find a strong link with speculators and the dramatic rise in commodity prices. Check Jim Wiesemeyer's Inside Washington Today column for more detail, analysis and perspective on this situation.