California River Flows for Coho and Four Largest Meatpackers Sued
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**Farmers, ranchers and tribal members who rely on water from the Scott and Shasta River watersheds turned out recently to offer insights to California officials considering an emergency regulation to set minimum flows on tributaries.
The informational workshop on October 6 in Sacramento came in response to a July 1 petition by the Karuk Tribe.
The petition seeks permanent minimum instream flows to prevent the extinction of coho salmon.
**The four largest meatpackers were hit by a new price-fixing lawsuit from a group of small food distributors.
File October 9 in U.S. District Court, the plaintiffs say the price-fixing dates back to at least 2015, and includes Cargill, JBS, Tyson, and National Beef Packing Company.
They say the Big Four exploited their market power by conspiring to limit the supply of beef sold to U.S. wholesale purchasers, resulting in higher prices.
**Farm lending activity slowed further in the third quarter alongside a drop in operating loan volumes.
The number of non-real estate farm loans was flat compared to a year ago, while the average SIZE shrank almost 20%, the amount of operating loans over $1 million most notably.
The Kansas City Fed says lending has softened alongside significant increases in farm loan interest rates, putting considerable upward pressure on financing costs.
