Need a quick look at ag news. Here are seven agricultural stories you might have missed.
1. The Biden administration’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan includes $100 billion to extend broadband networks to all U.S. households. But officials relying on industry data produced inaccurate maps of internet deployment. As a result, the U.S. doesn’t know where to find everyone lacking service. – Farm Futures
2. According to court filings from Tyson, Cody Easterday allegedly concocted a fraudulent billing scheme to cover more than $200 million in losses stemming from trading commodities. On Feb. 1, Easterday Ranches filed for bankruptcy, followed a week later by sister company Easterday Farms, both led by Cody Easterday. The bankruptcy may be the largest agriculture-related bankruptcy ever in Washington state. The CFTC filed suit against Easterday last week. – Basin Business Journal, Western Farm Press
3. China reported an African swine fever outbreak in the Xinjiang region. The outbreak occurred on a farm with 599 pigs. Thirty-three pigs were found to be infected and six died. All the hogs were killed following the discovery. – Reuters
4. Prices for U.S. lean hogs have soared to the highest level since 2014. The Philippines this week ended a two-month ceiling on pork prices, which is expected to give further strength to prices. The Philippines is one of the fastest-growing markets for U.S. pork. – Bloomberg
5. Climate change is turning into big business. According to the International Monetary Fund, taking comprehensive measures to mitigate climate change could add 0.7% annually to global economic output over the next 15 years and create 12 million jobs. A global green infrastructure package, combined with efforts to reduce carbon emissions, could be a global jobs program that would ease some of the job losses brought on by the global pandemic. – Barrons
6. Bayer is preparing to sell its pest control unit Bayer Environmental Science this summer with a $2.4 billion price tag in an effort to reduce debt incurred by its $63 billion purchase of Monsanto in 2016. – Reuters
7. A group of Idaho farming operations have filed an antitrust suit against several big agricultural companies, alleging the companies worked together to ban e-commerce sales in order to keep prices artificially high. The farmers want a judge to force the companies to pay compensation to those impacted. – Associated Press
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