pandemic

After a very rough couple of years, the two words being used to describe the Oregon wine community are recovery and resiliency.  And that is especially true with the 2022 harvest underway.  The Oregon Wine Boards’ Sarah Murdoch said those words reflect the confidence in what Oregon wineries are producing.   “Resiliency is s...

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to linger even as society and rural communities are ready to move on.  Dr. Michael Stevens, West Virginia University System Health Care Epidemiologist, Morgantown, West Virginia, said rural communities have seen disproportionate levels of COVID   “Rural communities have been disproportionately affected and impacted by the pandemic in terms of having more severe COVI

Between drought and input costs, the beef industry nationwide is facing a variety of challenges.  The University of Idaho’s Phil Bass noted following the slowdowns from the pandemic, larger packing facilities are running at or near capacity which is good news moving product out to customers.  But when it c...

As the state works to come out of the pandemic, the number of Oregonians considered “food insecure” is rising.  In 2019, roughly 860,000 people requested food assistance; that number ballooned to 1.7 million in the first year of COVID-19.  Oregon Food Bank Ex...

Late last week, the Washington state Department of Agriculture was awarded more than $16 million in grants to help small farms and food businesses recover from ongoing economic impacts from the pandemic.  State lawmakers created the Local Food System Infrastructure Grants to improve the strength and resiliency Washington’s food systems.  Applicants offered...

During 2020 and 2021, the FSA provided $31 billion in aid to more than 950,000 producers of agricultural commodities, including crops, dairy, and livestock.  The goal was to help offset losses and costs associated with the COVID pandemic.  Th...

USDA’s Economic Research Service just released its annual report on food security, showing a slight improvement in 2021 from 2020.  American Farm Bureau Federation Senior Economist Veronica Nigh says according to the study, roughly 13.5 million house...

According to ERS, the interest expense ratio of farms  in 2020 was 0.04, remaining in line with the long-term trend and initial forecasts, despite the pandemic.  The COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for agricultural commodities.  The interest...

New data from ERS shows that U.S. adults ages 20 and older reported a 3% higher prevalence of obesity during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The study analyzed data from the CDC from March 13, 2020, to March 18, 2021, compared to a pre-pandemic baseline period of January 1, 2019, to March 12, 2020. ...

Demystifying Wholesale is a new video series on YouTube to help farmers learn how to grow and sell their products to the wholesale market.  Selling products to the wholesale market is added value to your farm, and a market with huge demand.  Bu...