NATIONAL AG NEWS SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
National Ag News for November 21st, 2023
USDA Says Farm Share of Food Dollar Dipped Further in 2022
America’s farms received 14.9 cents per dollar spent on domestically produced food in 2022 as compensation for farm commodity production. This portion called the farmer’s share is a decrease of 0.3 cents from a revised 15.2 cents in 2021. The farm share covers operating expenses and input costs from non-farm establishments. The remaining portion of the U.S. food dollar is called the marketing share, which covers the costs of getting domestically produced food from farms to points of purchase. That includes the costs of transportation, processing, and selling to consumers. One of the factors behind the long-term downward trend in the farm share is an increasing proportion of food-away-from-home spending. Farms get a lower portion of dollars spent on food away from home because of the added costs of preparing and serving meals. The Economic Research Service uses input-output analysis to calculate the farm and marketing shares of a food dollar.
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USDA Scheduling 2024 Trade Missions
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack released the next steps in the Department’s efforts to bolster U.S. ag trade, including the agency’s planned trade missions for 2024. Ag exports totaled a record $196 billion in 2022 following a record-setting year in 2021. USDA plans to build on recent successes and highlight export opportunities in additional markets through a robust agribusiness trade mission schedule next year. USDA will lead trade missions to several markets, including Seoul, Korea; New Delhi, India; Vancouver, Canada; Bogota, Colombia; Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam; and Casablanca, Morocco. In addition, Vilsack announced a public comment period for the new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program. Combined, these efforts will help support further growth in U.S. agricultural exports and introduce high-quality U.S. agricultural products to new markets. “Market diversification is an important tool for maximizing growth opportunities for U.S. agriculture, as well as hedging the risk of market contraction,” Vilsack says.
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Challenge Ahead for Deere Patent Lawsuit Ruling
Kinze Manufacturing says while it can’t comment on ongoing litigation, the company did say that a jury in the Southern District of Iowa issued a verdict it doesn’t agree with. The jury found that the True Speed and Sure Speed systems infringe on certain Deere and Company patents. Kinze and Ag Leader say they “strongly disagree” with the verdict and intend to pursue their rights to challenge the verdict. An Iowa jury returned a verdict on October 30 that found Kinze and Ag Leader had infringed on several John Deere patents regarding True Speed/Sure Speed technology. The jury sided with Deere on four claims of patent infringement but found that Deere didn’t prove the infringements were willful. Additionally, the jury found that Kinze and Ag Leader’s countersuit did not prove any of Deere’s asserted claims were invalid. The jury said Deere was entitled to over $14 million in royalty compensation.
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Survey Discovers Top Thanksgiving Leftovers
Pumpkin pie, turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole are some of the time-honored foods found at most Thanksgiving tables. But a survey shows those are also some of the top day-after sandwich items. A Harris Poll survey did a deep dive into America’s favorite Thanksgiving leftover sandwich. More than 94 percent of the respondents dine on a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich. Stapes like gravy (42 percent), ham (41 percent), and stuffing (39 percent) trailed turkey (81 percent) as the most popular items that belong on a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich. Pumpkin pie-filled sandwiches were a must-have ingredient in a leftover sandwich for 11 percent of the respondents. Americans also love adding hot dish leftovers into their post-Thanksgiving sandwiches, with Mac and Cheese (21 percent), Green Bean Casserole (14 percent), corn casserole (10 percent), and broccoli casserole (nine percent) reported by survey participants. White bread (20 percent) was the bread winner for sandwiches.
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