Ag News: China Lags in U.S. Purchases and USDA Plans For Food Banks
**The “phase one” agreement that de-escalated the China-U.S. trade war calls for China to greatly expand its purchases of U.S. food, ag and seafood products this year and in 2021.
Former USDA chief economist Joe Glauber tells agriculture.com, China will have to accelerate sharply its purchases to meet that goal.
In February, the USDA forecast agricultural exports of $14 billion to China this fiscal year.
During the first three months of 2020, China has reported imports of $5 billion of U.S. agricultural products.
**Nearly two years after wildfire scorched a research facility in Mendocino County, University of California specialists say they're learning more about how oak woodlands recover.
The 2018 fire brought much less initial impact in areas where livestock had been allowed to graze.
Long-term studies are showing how to manage grazing to assure oaks regenerate.
**The USDA laid out its plan to award contracts to the private sector to purchase meat, dairy and produce for distribution to the nation’s food banks and other nonprofits addressing hunger.
According to agwired.com, the USDA is authorized to spend $3 billion on hunger relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The American Farm Bureau Federation and Feeding America, the country’s largest hunger relief organization, wrote the USDA requesting a nimble approach to quickly and effectively get food from America’s farms to the nation’s food banks.
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