Posted on 11/28/2014 11:04:37 AM PST by Incorrigible
Nov 27, 2014 06:24 PM EST
USDA Cranberries - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreed to purchase up to $55 million in cranberry products to the Congressional Cranberry Caucus.
The USDA doubled with this buy the previous one, which was in January. The agreement ended up with the Agriculture Dept. getting 68 million pounds of surplus cranberries, Green Bay Press Gazette reported.
The U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said on a press release on Monday that Wisconsin is the main producer of cranberries and the decision of the USDA is to help growers at a tough time.
The result of this buy will be more stable cranberry growers. The USDA became proprietor of the oversupply of the fruit, so this means that the growers are getting from 10 to 19 cents a pound, Local 12 noted.
"It's been declining. We've seen the downward pressure on grower returns for three or four years now. So hopefully we've reached the bottom and we'll start to see signs that things are improving," said Tom Lochner, Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association Director.
Apparently, at the current price, growers can't get even on what they grow and the price for which is sold. So, with the USDA plans to buy 68 million pounds by next year, Lochner said that it will probably help raise the commodity price of the fruit and also raise its profile.
"These products will go into school lunch programs, food banks, things like that. So people who may not normally enjoy cranberries will be able to do that," Lochner stated and WXPR noted.
The situation would be a "win-win" in the sense that cranberry growers will be able to sell the oversupply of fruit that they have and on the other hand, cranberries will become available for all sorts of people as well.
The USDA decision to make this buy was thoroughly celebrated by growers.
Hope your kids don't get sick of eating leftover cranberry sauce this weekend. They'll be eating a lot more at school!
More of Moochelle’s much derided healthy lunches for kids.
No sauce — just 5 little berries on the plate - unsweetened. Yummers!
Should check Ocean Spray’s political donation record.
This is patently Un-Constitutional and the entire program, along with every other USDA “price support” scheme should be abolished immediately.
With the exception of the federal entities indicated in the Constitution’s Clauses 16 & 17 of Section 8 of Article I as examples, entities under the exclusive legislative control of Congress, the states have never delegated to feds, expressly via the Constitution, the specific power to appropriate funds to stock intrastate food pantries or buy food for intrastate schools.
“Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States.” —Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.
/johnny
When I was in Junior High there was a great Cranberry glut. The USDA did the same thing, and we got to eat Cranberry every thing for months!
So the taxpayers are buying these cranberries THREE times? Once from the growers, then for school lunch programs to sell to our kids, and another time for the food banks to give them away?
More corporate bail-outs. Even though Wall Street and finance get most of the bail-out money, its nice of government to let smaller operators occasionally feed at the public trough also.
Politics and taxpayer dollars and lunch
This presents a problem. Can you imagine kids eating cranberries that haven’t been prepared with massive amounts of sugar or some other sweetener? Raw cranberries won’t be real popular (except as ammo) for the healthy snack program.
all government involvement in schools should end
” I don’t know why people want to keep this Roosevelt era crap around. “
Follow the money, my friend. But you knew that. Ain’t no flies on you.
Hope you’re having a wonderful Thanskgiving weekend.
Best,
L
Government subsidized food production, with the government buying up surpluses, has been a fact of life at least since the 1950's.
“Government subsidized food production, with the government buying up surpluses, has been a fact of life at least since the 1950’s.”
It’s a “fact” that needs to end.
I’m still surprised all school buses are not mandated to run on corn and solar panels.
Another $55 million wasted.
I tried some Ocean Spray `Craisins’ (dried cranberries) a while back.
Couldn’t finish the bag, absolutely terrible taste.
Might be OK in muffins, in moderation, but absolute crap as a snack.
Crony capitalism...follow the money.
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