USDA

Starting Jan. 1, taxable foods and beverages in Iowa will no longer be eligible under SNAP. This includes candy, soda and sugary beverages with less than 50% fruit or vegetable juice – but also dried fruit leathers, flourless granola bars and some prepared items.

When bird flu spilled over into dairy cattle last year, researchers discovered high concentrations of the H5N1 virus in the raw milk and udders of infected cows. A new study shows the mammary glands of other livestock and humans could also be suitable hosts for the virus.

The federal funding package to reopen the government included a one-year extension of certain 2018 Farm Bill programs. Several expired Sept. 30 or would have been null by the end of the year.

Over 60,000 Iowans participate in WIC, which provides food assistance, nutrition education and counseling to new and expecting mothers and children under 5. The state has indicated it will maintain services, but long-term funding is uncertain.

The quarterly Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade used to include data tables of imports and exports, plus a written analysis. But the last two reports have only included the data, leaving readers to do guesswork on the trends behind the numbers.

While U.S. corn production and exports are on track to break records, sales for soybeans are down and prices for both commodities sit below production costs.

The USDA said it will invest up to $18 million into a program that makes connections between schools and local farmers after canceling the program in March. The announcement was made alongside the release of the Make America Healthy Again report.

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service announced last week that it will cut the Regional Food Business Center program, which provides grants to small and medium-sized local farm and food businesses.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ summer food program for children that is meant to replace Summer EBT got off to a rocky start this month, according to food bank and pantry officials tasked with distributing food for Healthy Kids Iowa.

A federal judge in Iowa ruled against a landholding company that sought to dismantle a long-standing wetlands law called swampbuster.