Down on the farm

The American Farm Bureau Federation is holding its convention in Salt Lake this weekend. While I attended the last two, I wasn't able to get to this one. The news is starting to trickle out, however. FB President Bob Stallman gave his opening talk to the assembled crowd, and the release about his speech is worth noting.

Stallman said ag and farm program spending have "big targets" draped all over them. While a Democratically controlled Congress may be better for farm programs than if Republicans were in charge, he said there will be a lower budget baseline because renewable energy demand has boosted grain prices and reduced subsidy payments. He said commodity groups need to be more unified to get anything done. I'm sure he is talking about corn and wheat, and not apples and asparagus. Stallman tips his hand to show that Farm Bureau will resist any "radical changes" to U.S. farm policy. He said a revenue-based safety net is being discussed as an alternative to commodity payments, but he said no agreement is found on that approach yet. In other views, he expressed hope for a WTO agreement and hinted that Farm Bureau may support eliminating the fruit and vegetable planting prohibition in the next farm bill because of world trade rules.

All in all, this is about what the fresh produce industry should expect. Unfortunately, it appears changes in the next farm bill that would substantially elevate the profile of fruits and vegetables simply won't be supported by Farm Bureau.

Hey mom

If you read an earlier post, you know our family was in Nebraska over the holidays. We left the farm on Dec. 29, the day after an ice storm began to descend on south central Nebraska. In short order, the storm knocked over 3,000 power poles in a four-county region. The folks still don't have power and are spending $70 per day on diesel to run a power generator less than half time. The community paper hasn't published since the day of the storm, so the Holdredge Citizen is ironically missing out on the biggest story of the year. Since their Internet is also out, Mom and Dad can't read this post today, but this is my public salute to their resolve and earnest wish the upside-down world of south central Nebraska is made right soon.


Jan. 8 update: The lights are on!

WTO again

Can the on-again, off-again, on-again WTO talks finally find traction? This long running saga shows some signs of progress, but I think the prospects are dicey to pull it together. The Administration will test its resolve by proposing cuts to farm subsidies in the year a new farm bill is written.

Retail performers

What fruit commodities have shown the most increase in retail prices since the 1980s? Which have shown the least? What does that tell us about consumer demand? As some of you might have guessed, bananas have shown the smallest price variation since the 1980s, followed by valencia oranges. Grapefruit and seedless grapes have shown the biggest increase. In this analysis of Department of Commerce data, I've noted the average change in retail prices over time for a selected group of fresh fruit.

Continuing the retail theme, news report of SuperValu's plan to divest 15 stores in Milwaukee