May 19, 2025
EPA Administrator Tells Senate He Supports Year-Round E-15
The administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency says the most effective way to allow year-round E-15 sales is through Congressional action. Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, Lee Zeldin told lawmakers, “That is the most durable and easiest solution to this issue.” Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer said her bill, the Nationwide Consumer and Fueler Retailer Choice Act, will eliminate the emergency waivers that EPA has issued the last six years. “We need to pass a permanent solution and not have your agency go through this product every single year.” Zeldin said a permanent solution will allow his agency to be more efficient and focus on other issues.
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Grocery Inflation Slows to Slowest Pace in Five Years
Food-at-home prices increased in April at a 2% annual pace, down from 2.4% in March, according to Consumer Price Index data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Across-the-board inflation ticked down last month to 2.3%, its lowest rate since February 2021. It’s also the smallest month-over-month increase in inflation since 2020. The decline in grocery inflation in April represented the first monthly decline for the figure since October 2024. Egg prices continued to play an outsized role in the rate of grocery inflation in April, as a nearly 50% year-over-year increase in the cost of the commodity helped push the BLS index that also includes meats, poultry and fish up at a 7% annual clip. That dynamic could change in the coming weeks, as figures from the USDA released May 9 show that the national average retail price for conventional caged eggs was down by 17% compared with the prior week, to $3.30 per dozen.
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Study Reveals Testing Capacity Shortfalls in Event of ASF Outbreak
A recent study shows sampling and laboratory capacity to be major areas of concern in the event of an African Swine Fever in the U.S. “The key to managing an ASFV outbreak is in testing and containing the infection,” says Jason Galvis, research scholar at North Carolina State University. “But in areas with dense farm populations, getting the tests done in a timely way may be difficult. We looked at the current protocols and modeled what might happen during an outbreak.” Laboratory capacity was also a concern, as only specific labs have the ability to process these samples. The model capped daily laboratory capacity in the study area at 1,000 samples per day. The median delay for processing without sample pooling was 92 days, which went up to a maximum of five years in the worst scenarios. ASFV is a highly contagious viral disease in pigs, with a mortality rate that can reach 100%.
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New Canadian Ag Minister to Tackle Issues with U.S., China
Canada’s new agriculture minister Heath MacDonald said in an interview last week that tackling trade issues with China and the United States are his most pressing priorities. The two-front trade war with the world’s largest economies has stressed out farmers in Canada, a major canola, wheat and pork exporter, and impacted spring planting plans. Reuters reports MacDonald was sworn in on Tuesday and said trade issues are “center stage” after speaking with Canada’s canola industry and provincial agriculture ministers. Canada faces tariffs from China on Canadian canola meal and oil, as well as peas, pork and seafood products. It is also bracing for an anti-dumping ruling from China on Canadian canola seed exports. About half of Canada’s canola exports go to China. Canada’s agriculture industry is also affected by tariffs on some products from the Trump administration, such as steel and aluminum used in agricultural machinery.
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Chobani Buys Plant-Based Food Maker Daily Harvest
Chobani is buying plant-based food maker Daily Harvest as the Greek yogurt giant expands its reach into ready-to-make meals. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Daily Harvest was founded a decade ago, becoming one of the first businesses to ship clean, nutritious food directly to customers’ doorsteps. Since then, the company has expanded its portfolio to include meals and snacks that are available online and in retail. Chobani said it aims to use its “world-class manufacturing, distribution, and retail expertise” to get Daily Harvest into more U.S. homes. “These two purpose-led brands are united by a shared vision: to make high-quality, delicious food made with real ingredients more accessible,” Chobani and Daily Harvest said in a statement. The purchase also gives Chobani a presence for the first time in the multi-billion frozen section of the grocery store, moving the brand beyond its long-time home in the dairy aisle.
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JBS Plant Fined Following Employee Death
A JBS meat-processing plant in Arizona has been fined for worker-safety violations after an employee died there last year. Police found a worker unresponsive next to a forklift on November 20 at JBS Tolleson. A report by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) released Thursday said the worker stepped off his forklift to load a feed hopper when another driver on a tractor with a front-end loader reversed. A worker, Eduardo Reyes Hernandez, was caught between the two vehicles. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner said the 55-year-old Hernandez died of blunt-force injuries. His death was ruled accidental. According to police reports, company officials said he worked at JBS for more than 20 years. JBS Tolleson was issued serious safety violations for failing to have a workplace free from hazards and fined $43,786. The company the tractor driver worked for, Trumbull Trucking, was also cited and fined $16,131.
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