Food, in brief

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on 7 October it will pay crop farmers about $13.8 billion for their 2025 harvests. [1]

That is the biggest yearly payout from its two main crop safety-net programmes since the US Congress created them in 2014. [1][2]

The first, Price Loss Coverage, pays farmers when a crop sells for less than its 'reference price', a floor written into law. [1]

The second, Agriculture Risk Coverage, pays when crop income in a county, or on one farm, falls below a guaranteed level. [1]

For 2025, prices of 16 crops fell below their floors, among them corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, peanuts, cotton and chickpeas. [1][3]

A tax law that President Trump signed on 4 July raised those floors, starting with the 2025 crop. [2]

The same law raised the most one farmer can receive from $125,000 to $160,000 for 2025. [1]

For 2025 only, every farmer automatically gets whichever of the two programmes pays more, whatever they signed up for. [1]

The $13.8 billion is a gross figure. A 5.7% cut required by US budget law, and the payment limits, come off it. [1][3]

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the money gives farmers cash to cover running costs, and thanked the Republicans who all voted for the law. [1]

From 2026 the law adds 30 million acres of land that can earn these payments, trimmed by 3.69% because more land qualified than the cap allowed. [1]

Farmers can sign up for 2026 cover until 11 December. [3]

Why it matters. Watch the 2026 sign-up, which closes on 11 December, and the farm bill talks that are only now restarting: together they decide how big next year's payments get. [3][8]

PepsiCo, the company behind Doritos, Lay's and Gatorade, told investors on Thursday it will raise prices on some chips. [4] It blamed higher energy and farm costs. [4] In February it had cut some prices by up to 15% to win back shoppers who were spending less. [4] It is also cutting costs, and now expects sales growth of about 3% this year. [4] North America, its weakest region, made about 56% of its $25.27 billion in sales last quarter. [4]

Why it matters. Snack buyers in North America meet the higher prices first. [4] The reversal comes eight months after the cuts, because PepsiCo's own costs for energy and crops went up. [4]

Only 65% of Americans are now confident that food sold in grocery shops is safe, a new Gallup poll found. [5] That is the lowest Gallup has recorded, down from 73% last year and 81% in 2019. [5] Confidence that the US government keeps food safe fell to 47%. [5] Gallup links the drop to this summer's Cyclospora outbreak, a stomach parasite carried on lettuce, which it calls the largest in US history. [5]

Why it matters. Seventy-three percent said they had avoided a brand or kind of food because of a recall, up from 53% in 2024. [5] A column on Food Safety News, a trade news site, reported the poll and asks the FDA, the US food safety agency, to name the companies behind outbreaks. [5]

Leaders of the US House and Senate farm committees agreed to restart staff talks on a new farm bill, Agri-Pulse, a farm policy news service, reported. [8] The farm bill is the big US law that covers farm programmes and SNAP food aid. A deal could come after the November midterm elections. [8] The sticking point is SNAP, the US food-aid programme for low-income families. [8] Republicans offer states one year before they must pay part of its costs, and Democrats want at least two. [8]

Why it matters. Without a deal, California's share of SNAP costs could rise to almost $1.9 billion in its 2027 budget year. [8] A source close to the talks said deadlines like that may push lawmakers to agree. [8]

McCormick, the US spice and hot-sauce company, is buying the food brands of Unilever, a big British consumer-goods company, including Hellmann's and Knorr, in a $44.8 billion deal. [6] The US Federal Trade Commission, which polices competition, ended its waiting period early on 5 October. [6] It does that when it judges a deal unlikely to cut competition much. [6] Britain's competition watchdog has until 11 November to decide whether to look deeper. [6]

Why it matters. The same day, US senator Elizabeth Warren asked regulators to look hard at three food deals. [6] Besides this one, they are Kroger, a big US supermarket chain, buying Giant Eagle, and Sysco, a huge supplier to restaurants, buying Jetro Restaurant Depot. [6] She says fewer big suppliers would have more power over the prices shops pay. [6]

A US federal judge, Jane Beckering, threw out the US government's lawsuit against Michigan's cage-free egg law. [9] Michigan bans the sale of eggs from hens kept in ways that do not meet its cage-free standards. [9] The US government sued in January, saying only it may regulate eggs sold between states, and that the ban raises prices. [9] The judge said the US government had not shown that Michigan harmed it. [9]

Why it matters. A California judge threw out a nearly identical case in March. [9] Michigan egg farmers who spent hundreds of millions of dollars converting their barns keep the market they built for. [9]

Food sellers in the United Arab Emirates have changed how they buy since the Strait of Hormuz, the sea route into the Gulf, was closed in the war with Iran. [12] About 80% of the UAE's food is imported. [12] Sea shipments can now take up to 70 days, an executive at the Lulu supermarket group said. [12] Lulu now charters whole ships from India, Thailand, Spain and other countries, and buys more from nearby suppliers. [12]

Why it matters. Fresh food with a short shelf life suffers most from slow ships. [12] United Foods, which makes cooking oils and ghee, ordered its raw materials months ahead to hold its prices down. [12]

The World Food Programme, the UN's food aid agency, is asking for more than $30 million to keep feeding refugees from Congo in Burundi. [16] Without it, supplies could run out as early as this month. [16] It needs about $5 million a month. [16] Each refugee gets about 38,000 Burundian francs a month, about $12. [16] Busuma camp, opened in December 2025, holds about 33,000 people. [16]

Why it matters. Donors and Burundi's government avoided a sudden stop by paying part of the earlier request, but that covers only a few more months. [16] A refugee in the camp said the aid is not enough. [16]

Two-thirds of France's groundwater monitoring points were below normal on 1 October, said the BRGM, France's geological survey, on Thursday. [13] A year earlier the share was 31%. [13] And 81% of levels are still falling. [13] After a hot, dry summer, the first autumn rain is soaking into parched topsoil or drying off before it reaches the water underground. [13]

Why it matters. Groundwater supplies nearly two-thirds of France's drinking water and more than a third of the water its farms use. [13] The BRGM says the worst areas may need a wetter-than-normal winter to recover. [13]

Taylor Farms, a big US salad company, will stop harvesting iceberg lettuce in central Mexico for the US and Canada during the Cyclospora season, May to August. [14] Its lettuce was linked to this summer's outbreak of the stomach parasite, which made almost 13,000 people ill and killed two. [14] The FDA had found the parasite in water at its processing plant. [14]

Why it matters. It is the company's first public statement after months of near silence. [14] It will also test more irrigation water and join a task force with the FDA. [14]

Starbucks has worked with advisers on a possible takeover of Chipotle, a US burrito chain, the British newspaper the Financial Times reported on Thursday. [7] Starbucks is the second-biggest US restaurant chain by sales, at about $31 billion a year. [7] Chipotle is seventh, at more than $11 billion. [7] Starbucks's boss, Brian Niccol, ran Chipotle for more than six years before 2024. [7] Chipotle's shares rose about 6% on the report. [7]

Why it matters. One analyst put the chance of a deal at about 20%, and Starbucks would not comment. [7] A deal would put two of the biggest US restaurant chains under one owner. [7]

Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket, raised its forecast for this year's profit to between 3.15 and 3.3 billion pounds on Thursday. [10] Sales rose 2% to 33.8 billion pounds in the six months to 29 August. [10] Its boss, Ken Murphy, expects more low- and no-alcohol drinks at Christmas. [10] He said he does not expect this summer's drought to hit food supplies. [10]

Why it matters. Britain's competition watchdog rules this month on whether Aldi and Lidl now count as large supermarkets. [11] Industry watchers say that could make it easier for rivals such as Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons to merge. [11]

Coca-Cola is again exploring a sale of Costa Coffee, a British coffee-shop chain, the news site Semafor reported. [15] It bought Costa for $5.1 billion in 2018. [15] It called off an earlier sale this year after a weak response from private-equity buyers. [15] Costa has 2,700 shops in the UK and Ireland and employs 20,000 people. [15] It lost nearly 20 million pounds across 2023 and 2024. [15]

Why it matters. Coca-Cola may again choose to wait, Semafor said. [15] Costa's staff and its new headquarters, due to open in January 2027, depend on who ends up owning it. [15]

The USDA is paying about $1.8 billion this year to farmers and landowners in the Conservation Reserve Program, it said on 8 October. [17] The programme pays rent to keep land under grass or other cover instead of crops, which cuts soil loss. [17] This year it accepted nearly 1 million new acres of grazing land. [17] In all, 26.8 million acres will be enrolled for 2027. [17]

Why it matters. The USDA says the grazing land is part of its plan to rebuild the US cattle herd. [17] Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota and Missouri get the most money. [17]

Cal-Maine Foods, the biggest US egg producer, says egg supply and demand may be coming back into balance. [18] A year ago bird flu killed more than 145 million US birds and eggs ran short. [18] Now there are too many: its sales of ordinary shell eggs fell 59.5% to $201.7 million last quarter. [18] Fewer chicks are hatching, and the laying flock is about 4 million hens smaller than estimated. [18]

Why it matters. The average shop price per dozen was about 27% lower in the four weeks to 29 August, Cal-Maine said. [18] Cal-Maine says it cannot predict when the glut will end. [18]

Arkansas, the biggest US rice-growing state, is finishing a disappointing harvest. [19] Jarrod Hardke, a University of Arkansas crop expert, puts the average yield at 167 bushels an acre, a little under target. [19] Late-August heat and badly timed rain dried the grain and made it brittle. [19] Brittle rice breaks when it is milled, and broken rice sells for less. [19]

Why it matters. Hardke says the lower profit makes next year's rice planting look weak. [19] He warns that could have serious effects on the businesses built around rice in the state. [19]

The soybean harvest in central Kansas has started slowly, with yields well below normal after this year's drought, farmer Rick Schlender told Brownfield, a farm news service. [20] Heat hurt the plants while their pods were forming and filling. [20] He would be glad to see yields in the 20s of bushels an acre. [20] Last week's rain was more than he got all growing season. [20]

Why it matters. Schlender says the rain will help refill the soil for next year. [20] For this year's beans it came after the damage was done. [20]

LEASA Industries, a Miami company, recalled more than 15,000 cups of alfalfa sprouts sold in Florida and New Hampshire over possible E. coli. [21] The seeds they were grown from may have been contaminated. [21] The recall began on 4 September, but the FDA only classified it on 2 October. [21] It appeared in a little-read FDA enforcement report, not on the agency's main recall page. [21]

Why it matters. A separate outbreak linked to alfalfa sprouts has made 76 people ill in 16 states. [21] The FDA has not said whether these sprouts are part of it, or named the seed supplier. [21]

Nearly eight in ten Americans say nutrition advice keeps changing, so they do not know what to believe, the International Food Information Council found. [22] That is up from 71% in 2022. [22] Only 13% trust the main US food and health agencies. [22] The group surveyed 3,005 Americans in March and published the results on 7 October. [22] Only 40% rated their own health excellent or very good, down from 49% last year. [22]

Why it matters. The survey follows new US dietary guidelines in January, which many health experts called self-contradictory. [22] Trust in food companies rose 4 points but is still negative overall. [22]

Fishers who say they were forced to work at sea spoke at a European Parliament fisheries committee meeting on 30 September. [23] Fredi Seprizal, from Indonesia, said he worked 16 to 20 hours a day for 16 months on a Chinese boat, drinking filtered seawater. [23] A study of 121 fishers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia and Fiji found 94% had at some time not been paid their wages. [23]

Why it matters. An association of large tuna boat owners wants access to the EU market tied to the labour standards EU boats must meet. [23] An EU rule against forced labour phases in until December 2027. [23]

US beef exports in August were 4% higher than a year earlier, and pork exports 6% lower, the US Meat Export Federation said. [8] Beef sold abroad was worth $785.9 million, up 13%. [8] Strong buying in Taiwan and South Korea drove the gain. [8] Pork fell mainly because Mexico now raises more of its own pigs. [8] From January to August, beef exports were 7% lower, mostly because China bought less. [8]

Why it matters. Without China, US beef exports this year are down only 1%. [8] Taiwan has been the star market for US beef this year, the federation's head said. [8]

The UK government and UKRI, its research funding body, are putting 54 million pounds into 18 projects on vaccines and disease threats. [24] Projects include mRNA vaccines for farm animals and work on germs that resist antibiotics. [24] One in six lab-confirmed bacterial infections in 2023 resisted antibiotics, UKRI says. [24] Part of the money comes from Defra, the UK's farm and environment ministry. [24]

Why it matters. Agriland, an Irish and UK farm news site, says farm diseases are spreading while vaccines run short. [24] The UK's chief vet, Christine Middlemiss, said the research will help the country respond fast to new threats. [24]

Researchers at farmdoc daily, a University of Illinois project, modelled a 100-acre Illinois corn field using 29 pounds less nitrogen fertiliser an acre. [31] That saves $18.71 an acre. [31] In 12 of 15 simulated years yields did not fall, and the farmer came out about $10.91 an acre ahead. [31] In one year, yields fell enough to lose $38.34 an acre. [31]

Why it matters. The US conservation programme pays up to 75% of the practice's estimated cost, which covers labour and equipment, not the risk of a bad year. [31] Nutrient management got just under 1.7% of that programme's money from 2014 to 2023. [31]

In Willapa Bay, Washington, which grows 10% to 20% of all US oysters, native ghost shrimp burrow into the mud and smother oysters. [25] Just 25 shrimp per square metre make the ground useless for oyster farming, and one sample held 342. [25] Some estimate a quarter of the bay's oyster ground can no longer be farmed. [25] The pesticide used against them for decades was banned in 2013. [25]

Why it matters. Jennifer Ruesink, a University of Washington scientist, says shaking the mud, called vibrocompaction, worked as well as the banned chemical in early tests. [25] She needs much more money to build a full-size machine. [25]

On a North Dakota ranch, moving about 150 cows and their calves between small paddocks, then resting the grass, nearly doubled the carbon dioxide the grassland absorbed. [26] Researchers compared it with a pasture next to it that was not grazed at all. [26] The cattle stayed 24 to 48 hours in each paddock and the aim was to eat about half the green leaves. [26] The two-year study was published on 7 October in Scientific Reports. [26]

Why it matters. It suggests that how cattle are managed matters more than whether they are there. [26] It covers one ranch over two years, so it is a finding to test, not proof for all grassland.

Ethanol, an alcohol fuel made from crops such as corn, could run ships built for methanol with few changes, a study found. [27] It came out on Thursday from the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center, a shipping research group. [27] About 110 ships that can burn methanol are at sea, and about 300 more are on order. [27] The study looked only at how the fuel performs, and leaves its cost to later reports in the series. [27]

Why it matters. The US ethanol industry says that fleet alone could use more than 1 billion gallons. [27] It says 5% of the ship-fuel market could need at least 1.5 billion more bushels of US corn. [27]

Food grown to the Regenerative Organic Certified standard can carry more nutrients, says a report from the Regenerative Organic Alliance, which runs that label, and the testing firm Edacious. [28] Ground beef tested had 124% to 388% more omega-3 fat than USDA reference values. [28] All 10 legumes had more phosphorus. [28] Thirteen brands published results for 46 products. [28]

Why it matters. The report comes from the group that runs the label and its testing partner. [28] It compares products with USDA reference values, not with ordinary farms side by side. [28]

Keurig Dr Pepper, a US drinks company, is launching liquid espresso concentrates for iced coffee in 20 countries. [29] They come under four of its coffee brands, including L'Or, Jacobs and Douwe Egberts. [29] They compete with similar products from Starbucks and Nescafe. [29] The company is splitting its coffee and drinks businesses in two, and named Russ Torres to lead the coffee one. [29]

Why it matters. Cold coffee is one of the fastest-growing coffee habits, especially among young people. [29] The company's last quarterly sales rose 75.6% to $7.31 billion, mostly because it bought Peet's, a coffee company. [29]