California Cherry Crop Down and Trump Tariffs Hit Deficit
From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.
**California’s cherry crop is lighter this year, with farmers in parts of the state blaming the lower yield on last summer’s heat wave and poor pollination this spring.
San Joaquin County Ag Commissioner Kamal Bagri requested a disaster declaration after estimating the crop was about 43% less than the five-year average, a roughly $100 million loss.
Linden grower, Donald Drake says the quality of his fruit is excellent, but yields are down 50%.
**President Trump’s tariffs will take a big bite out of U.S. deficit levels, reducing them $2.5 trillion over the next decade and shrinking the size of the U.S. economy.
A Congressional Budget Office analysis showed the deficit reduction is almost exactly the same size as the deficit addition from the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill.”
Despite several tariff pauses on other countries, some are still in effect despite negotiations with those countries.
**The National Milk Producers Federation and others applauded the Senate Ag Committee for supporting, by voice vote, the “Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.”
The bill would provide schools with the option of serving whole and two-percent milk, the two most consumed varieties at home, and offer 13 essential nutrients like protein and calcium.
Currently, school meal rules in place since 2012 allow only one percent and fat-free options.
