Anheuser-Busch InBev, the largest beer producer in the world, is taking another shot at the American craft brewing industry, this time by cornering the market on some key ingredients independent brewers need to make quality beer. The company last week announced that they would no longer be exporting hops from their South African hop farms to U.S. craft brewers, as promised, and would instead be redirecting the hops toward their own in-house brands.
Read MoreResidents of rural communities near large-scale farms may soon find it harder to protect their drinking water from pollution from agriculture, thanks to a bill introduced recently by Representative Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Washington’s 4th district.
Read MoreA recent decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court will overturn a 72-year-old restriction on how many licenses a liquor retailer in the state can hold. The case was brought by Total Wine & More, a Maryland-based liquor retailer with over 150 “big box” stores in 20 states. Now, small retailers fear they will be forced out of business as larger companies become the dominant liquor retailers in the state.
Read MoreOver the past month, health authorities in Europe, China, and Brazil have all temporarily pulled beef from the Brazilian meat giant JBS off of grocery store shelves, in response to evidence that the company was involved in a massive corruption scandal to export rotten and contaminated meat. Yet here at home, the Trump Administration has yet to take meaningful action against JBS imports from Brazil. On the contrary, JBS has continued to expand its reach and political power in the U.S.
Read MoreNorth Carolina is home to a booming craft beer industry, including Highland Brewing Company and Olde Mecklenberg. But the growing power of the independent breweries has put them at odds with an increasingly consolidated distribution and wholesale industry in the state. In response, the brewers are backing a bill that would raise the amount of beer they could distribute on their own before having to contract with a distributor.
Read MoreSince it was acquired in 2013 by the Chinese company WH Group, pork giant Smithfield has moved steadily to consolidate power over its supply chain. The company’s most recent purchase targeted grain elevators in Harpster and Morral, Ohio. This means Smithfield can now ship grains directly from Ohio to its feedlots in North Carolina. These acquisitions also serve to further the Chinese government’s power in the American food system.
Read MoreDairy Farmers of America, the largest dairy processor in the country, recently threatened to terminate its contracts with around 900 independent dairy farmers in the Northeast. Farmers in the region say this move is yet another step from DFA to undermine independent producers and to suppress earnings for farmers in the dairy market.
Read MoreDays before entering office, President Donald Trump held a meeting with executives from agrochemical giants Bayer and Monsanto. The companies sought Trump’s blessing for their $66 billion merger, promising to create thousands of jobs if the merger is approved. But the companies’ track records, as well as evidence from past mergers, suggest the deal would likely result in a net job loss.
Read MoreWhole Foods’ recent decision to centralize buying for its U.S. stores will likely make it much harder for smaller producers of organic and natural foods to get to market. The move could thus further solidify the control of the corporate food giants currently dominating the organic and natural foods sector.
Read MoreThe Department of Agriculture last week finally proposed rules to protect poultry farmers from abusive and discriminatory practices by giant chicken processing companies. Called the Farmer Fair Practices Rules, the new rules come 6 years after the Obama Administration first attempted to regulate the industry, then retreated under heavy pressure from pro-Big Ag representatives in Congress. Some in the industry believe the USDA action comes too late to deliver any real change for farmers.
Read MoreCattle prices hit historic lows in some parts of the country in November, even as the first shipments of Brazilian beef arrived in U.S. ports after the USDA’s recent decision to lift a 13-year-old ban on that country. Ranchers say the combination will likely drive many American ranchers out of business.
Read MoreThe most recent attack by American ranchers on the Department of Agriculture’s beef checkoff tax reached a federal court two weeks ago. The suit, filed by the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), challenges how the checkoff program operates in Montana. But the outcome of the case could reshape how the checkoff tax system operates across the whole country.
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