Drought in Central Valley and Meatpacking Bosses to Testify in Congress
**The drought means hard choices for farmers throughout California’s Central Valley.
Bureau of Reclamation’s regional director, Ernest Conant says “there’s going to be hundreds of thousands of acres in the Sacramento Valley that have never been fallowed before that are going to be fallowed this year.”
Conant says the region is facing water challenges unseen in 160 years.
The Central Valley Project is granting zero allocations this year.
**The prices for eggs intended for processing are soaring to record highs because of the avian influenza outbreak, according to Bloomberg.
The rapid bird flu spread could make this one of the biggest outbreaks in history.
Twenty million birds have been culled from the nation’s flocks, which is hitting the breaker egg market hard.
The high price is driving production costs higher for food makers, which will push inflation higher.
**The CEOs of Cargill, Tyson, JBS, and National Beef Packing have agreed to testify before Congress.
Reuters says the four meatpacker bosses will discuss cattle markets and price increases for consumers.
House Ag Committee Chair David Scott says it’s important to find out why prices have dropped for ranchers and risen for consumers.
The concern is a small group of meatpackers can dictate beef, pork, and poultry prices, which will add to inflation pressures.