Taco Bell Drops Potatoes and China Short on Ag Purchases
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**Another hit for potato growers as Taco Bell drops potato items from its menu in an effort to simplify it.
As potatocountry.com reports, this includes Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes, Cheesy Potato Grillers and Spicy Potato Soft Tacos.
The decision resulted in a social media backlash with one tweet declaring “If Taco Bell is really taking the potatoes off their menu entirely, 2020 will have actually been the worst year of my life.”
https://potatocountry.com/2020/08/28/taco-bell-eliminates-potatoes-from-menu/
**Corn and soy purchases are up, but USDA’s latest data shows Chinese imports through July are still below 2018 levels and far below meeting “phase-one” goals.
As reported by agri-pulse, China imported over $7.7 billion of U.S. ag products between January and July putting the pace above last year, but below 2018 levels after the US-China trade war began.
China imported about $1.15 billion worth of U.S. ag goods in July, but needs to go higher to meet its phase-one obligation of $36.5 billion worth of ag products.
https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/14411-chinas-us-ag-imports-sluggish-through-july-but-purchases-increasing
**The USDA is reminding specialty crop growers that the deadline for submitting applications for Coronavirus Food Assistance Program is today.
According to thepacker.com, applications for the program, www.farmers.gov/cfap, were originally due August 28th, but the USDA extended the deadline.
The program is administered through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, and is the sister program to the Farmers to Families Food Box Program.
https://www.thepacker.com/article/usda-cfap-applications-due-sept-11?mkt/
