Wheat Yield Contest Winners and Avian Influenza Losses Near Record

**It was a record-setting year for the National Wheat Yield Contest, which announced its 2022 winners last week.

Three entries binned more than 200 bushels per acre, with Rylee Reynolds of Castleford, Idaho, taking top honors at 231.37 bpa of irrigated soft white winter wheat, beating the previous record of 211.59 in 2019.

Overall, the Pacific Northwest showed its ability to grow wheat with all four Bin Buster winners.

**Online nutrition assistance recipients redeemed $9.4 billion in benefits during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

USDA’s Economic Research reports the redemptions came from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, along with the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits.

The programs allowed users to buy groceries online from authorized retailers.

The number of participating retailers expanded significantly in the first two years of the pandemic.

**Avian influenza losses are nearing a record in the U.S. this year, as the virus has infected more wild birds that transmit the disease.

A new Reuters report shows more than 47 million birds have died from infections and culling, shy of the 2015 record of 50.5 million birds.

The outbreak sparked export bans and lowered egg and turkey production, leading to tight supplies and higher prices as the Thanksgiving Day shopping period nears.