Ag News: Container Ship Rates Ease

**Container shipping rates are showing signs of easing, at least temporarily.

On the Shanghai-to-Los Angeles trade route, the rate for a 40-foot container fell nearly $1,000 last week, an 8.2 % drop from the prior week.

However, according to Bloomberg, ocean freight remains more expensive than it was pre-pandemic, and air cargo rates remain elevated.

And, as Bloomberg put it, it’s anyone’s guess if these latest declines in global shipping costs mark the beginning of a plateau, a seasonal turn lower or the start of a steeper correction.

**The USDA is investing $10 million in a new initiative to sample, measure, and monitor soil carbon on Conservation Reserve Program acres.

The investment seeks to better quantify the climate outcomes of the program.

USDA says CRP is an important tool in the Nation’s fight to reduce the worst impacts of climate change facing our farmers, ranchers, and foresters.

This initiative will begin implementation this fall with three partners.

**Pistachios are called an alternate-bearing crop because they produce heavier yields one year and lighter yields the next.

This was supposed to be an “off” year for California pistachio orchards, but the harvest has been robust, expected to meet or exceed 1 billion pounds, just off 2020’s high-yield year total of 1.05 billion.

Pistachios rank fourth among California’s agricultural commodities, behind milk, almonds and grapes.