USDA to buy $270 million of meat; president to urge famine relief
President Barack Obama, campaigning in Iowa today, will announce $170 million in government meat purchases and urge Congress to pass an agriculture bill that provides aid for farmers struck by drought, the White House said.
According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the buys of as much as $100 million of pork, $50 million of chicken, and $10 million each of lamb and catfish come on top of $30 million in assistance to farmers and ranchers struggling with the worst combination of heat and dryness since the 1950s, the administration said.