U.s. Department Of Agriculture | featured news

The price of food items such as beef, pork and dairy products is expected to stay high
through the end of the year and into 2013, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast released Friday.

As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, so too has the number of urban farmers markets sprouting up across the nation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday that the number of direct-sales markets has increased 9.6 percent in the past year, with California and New York leading the way.

The record drought gripping half the country will help push food prices up by 3 percent to 4 percent next year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday. Milk, eggs,beef, poultry and pork prices will all be affected by the drought, which has pushed up prices for feed. Beef prices are expected to see the biggest jump at 4 percent to 5 percent. Dairy product prices are forecast to climb 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent; poultry and egg prices are projected to rise 3 percent to 4 percent; and pork prices are expected to rise 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent in 2013, the agency said.

Two farms have been quarantined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the agency continues to investigate last month's discovery of mad cow disease at a California dairy farm.

“Pink slime,” or “lean, finely textured beef” filler treated with ammonia to kill bacteria, has been making the headlines recently in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture decision to make 7 million pounds of ground beef containing “pink slime” available to school districts for use in school meals.

The number of businesses approved to accept food stamps grew by a third from 2005 to 2010, U.S. Department of Agriculture records show, as vendors from convenience and dollar discount stores to gas stations and pharmacies increasingly joined the growing entitlement program. Now, restaurants, which typically have not participated in the program, are lobbying for a piece of the action. Louisville-based Yum! Brands, whose restaurants include Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silver's and Pizza Hut, is trying to get restaurants more involved, federal lobbying records show.

A bit of pink in pork appears to be OK after all. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service is lowered its temperature recommendation for cooking pork to 145 degrees.