Republicans in Congress on Tuesday denounced what they called a secret agreement with the Biden administration and four Northwest Pacific tribes meant to eventually breach four dams on the lower Snake River that are considered critical to hydropower generation and U.S. wheat exports. A subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing over an agreement announced back in December involving the Biden administration, the states of Oregon and Washington, as well as the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Yakama tribes, and some environmental organizations.

About 200 people attended the second-ever statewide conference dedicated to addressing farm stress and farmer suicide.One of the main topics of the conference was addressing farmer suicide and understanding some of the warning signs to look for. The conference was free to attend and was held in Boise by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s Idaho Farm and Ranch Center. This is the second time the ISDA has held this type of conference, the first one occurring in October 2022. Part of the conference focused on tools and advice farmers and ranchers can use to deal with financial challenges. That included a presentation on farm management strategies and farm transition and estate planning by consultant Dick Wittman.

The donut category, in various ways, keeps growing globally. The sweet treats are showing up in new countries, more retail outlets and increasingly at quick-service restaurants, including McDonald’s. Krispy Kreme, Inc., Charlotte, NC, is leading the charge. The company has a goal of achieving 75,000 points of access and introducing Krispy Kreme in three to five countries a year, said Josh Charlesworth, then incoming chief executive officer, on Dec. 5, 2023, at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference in New York. Global points of access were nearing 14,000 after the fiscal year’s third quarter ended Oct. 1, 2023.

Whole grains are one of three food groups that are fundamental building blocks of a healthy diet, according to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). But not all whole grains are created equal. They come in different shapes and sizes, colors, flavors and nutrition profiles. Whole grains, as well as foods made from them, consist of the entire grain seed, usually called the kernel. The kernel is made of three components: the bran, the germ and the endosperm. If the kernel has been cracked, crushed or flaked, then it must retain nearly the same proportions of bran, germ and endosperm as the original grain to be called whole grain.

Although down from the historic gain of 13% in 2022, the Consumer Price Index for baked foods and cereal products again advanced at a level not seen in many years outside of 2022. The index increased 8.4% in 2023, which followed the increase of 13% in 2022 and advances of 2.3% in 2021, 2.2% in 2020, 1.4% in 2019 and 0.4% in 2018. The gains followed declines of 0.5% in 2017 and 0.3% in 2016. The only other years in the past 40 years that the index increased more than 8% was a 10.2% increase in 2008 and an 8.4% jump in 1989, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor.

Speakers at the Water Street Solutions Edge Conference in Tucson, Ariz., say they expect inflation to return in 2024. Not only will it have an impact on the interest rate environment, but it could bring the fund or speculative community back in to buy commodities, which would be positive for the grain markets. Inflation cooled in 2023 following a series of interest rate hikes by the Fed. However, Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for StoneX, says there are already economic signs inflation could rear its ugly head in 2024. "With interest rates coming down, we've seen a resurgence in interest in buying houses once again at lower mortgage rates," he says. "Those are two sticky areas of inflation that can bring it back."

Attacks on ships in the Red Sea are unlikely for now to affect exports of French cereals to Asia, notably China which is a key market for France, since they are targeted at ships going towards Israel, farm office FranceAgriMer on Wednesday. The Iran-allied Houthi militia have been attacking commercial ships in the region since November in an escalation of Israel's war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza. The Houthis have said that they would target ships heading to Israel and that their actions are a show of support for the Palestinians. (Wheat exports) going to China are going to go through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in the opposite way as the one that is threatened.