South Carolina Remains Drought Free

In the latest drought monitor released by USDA the Palmetto state remains drought free. Just three months ago more than 72% was experiencing abnormally dry conditions, 47% was in moderate drought, and just over 8% was reporting severe drought. One year ago 9 ¼ % of the state was in extreme drought.
 

More than Three Years Since North Carolina was Drought Free
 

In the latest drought monitor released by USDA, the entire state of North Carolina is free of drought, courtesy of Tropical Storm Andrea. In the previous report, more than 34% of the state, mostly in the Coastal Plain was reporting abnormally dry conditions, and just three months ago, just shy of 7% of the state was reporting moderate drought, and at the beginning of the calendar year, more than 38% of the state was reporting moderate drought, and more than 1% of the state was reporting severe drought. This is the first time since April 2010 that the entire state has been drought free. The Commonwealth of Virginia remains drought free, as well.
 

Fight Over Food Stamps & the Farm Bill Far From Over
 

The food stamp fight central to the fate of the 2013 Farm Bill spilled out onto the House floor days before the bill’s expected to come up. There is no mistaking the intensity of the fight that may soon be waged in the House over the long-delayed farm bill. Lead defender of the SNAP program – Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern – threw down the gauntlet on the House bill’s more than 20-billion dollar, 10-year SNAP cut…

“And I will do everything I can to push back and to fight these cuts. Reducing the ability of poor people to buy food is a rotten thing to do. If we cant restore the SNAP cuts, then I will do everything I can to defeat this farm bill.”

Recent Report Shows RFS Doesn’t Increase Food Prices

A recent study released by ABF Economics found no direct correlation between federal biofuels mandates and increasing food prices. Instead – expanding global demand, speculation in commodity markets and particularly high oil prices are the primary drivers of increased food costs. According to the study – food price inflation has increased at a slower rate since 2007 – the year the Renewable Fuel Standard was last revised.