Dressed in a short-sleeved chef’s shirt and black-and-white checkered chef pants, Yadiska van Putten puts a black nitrile glove on each hand as she begins her morning shift as a Level 2 prep and station cook in the kitchen of Gallery Restaurant at the Ballantyne Hotel in Charlotte. The hood vent and convection oven rumble behind her as she chops strawberries for the lunchtime salads.
Van Putten was hired for this $14-an-hour job in April, a month before she graduated from the Charlotte campus of Johnson & Wales University. She started in mid-May, one of about 30 cooks working the kitchen at the upscale restaurant, which bills itself as serving “New American fare in a refined venue.” Click here to read the full article. 

Highly pathogenic avian influenza is no longer in the rear-view mirror for U.S. poultry producers, with the bird-killing virus on the rise in California and making a comeback in Indiana, Minnesota and North Dakota after months-long respites.
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California was spared as HPAI infected flocks on the eastern side of the country early this year, and as the virus moved across the country but was seemingly on the wane in recent weeks.
That is no longer the case. While the virus did not hit California’s poultry industry until August, the state has now seen six outbreaks among commercial producers in a three-week period, affecting more than 325,000 birds.

​Wisconsin’s $5 million effort to embolden the state’s meat processing industry now includes a website to help link potential workers to training programs.

The state’s agriculture department recently unveiled the Meat Pathways website, which includes links to training options and information about jobs.

“From working with livestock to making delicious sausages, meat processing is a vast and exciting profession,” according to one portion of the site, which posts information about jobs including work as a commercial truck driver, plant manager and inspector.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers in January announced up to $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for the Meat Talent Development Program. It offers tuition reimbursement for students in Wisconsin meat processing training programs, such as one on safety rules recently offered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota are among the states to join a nationwide trend of butchery training programs.

Nothing says summer like ice cream! You're sure to find the perfect summer treat to serve. Find novelty treats, new flavors, cones and more! Click here to view the guide.

The impending closure of Borden dairy facilities in Alabama and Mississippi has left more than 100 school districts in the state scrambling to find a new milk provider.
The company announced earlier this month that it will close its Dothan-based plant by Sept. 30 because “it could no longer support continued production,” according to a report. Click here to read the full article. 

The National Restaurant Association Research Group conducted a survey of 4,200 restaurant operators between July 14 and August 5, 2022. This report contains the key findings of the survey.​Click here to read  more.

Even as restaurants and fast-food chains hike menu prices, customers aren’t pulling back on tips for wait staffs and cashiers, according to a new report.
Diners tipped an average of 19.6% at full-service restaurants and 16.9% at quick-service eateries during the second quarter, which was roughly in line with a year ago, according to sales data from software provider Toast. In-person diners typically were more generous, tipping an average of 19.7%, according to the report. Delivery or takeout customers tipped an average of 14.5%. Click here to read the article. 

Food inflation might still be on an upswing, but at least chicken wing fans currently have something to celebrate. The Department of Agriculture says the price of the popular food item remains at a low, which it has been sitting since July and, at $1.68 per pound, the item is the cheapest it has been since 2018, per News on 6.

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Macro-economic pressures and a complex consumer landscape continue to afflict the restaurant industry. Sales and traffic growth face difficult laps from 2021’s release of pent-up demand and stimulus.
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Still, a view into three-year sales and traffic growth patterns reveals segment-specific resiliency. Click here to read the full article. 

Global consumer concerns about climate change and food shortages are increasing, according to a new report from Mintel.
The research firm’s second annual sustainability barometer found that the percentage of global consumers concerned about climate change rose to 46% from 39% one year ago, while concern about potential food shortages climbed to 23% from 17% reported in the previous study. In the wake of extreme weather events and the conflict in Ukraine, consumer concerns about climate, food and water shortages increased the most among sustainability issues over the last 12 months, Mitel reported.
Climate change remained the highest environmental priority with nearly half of consumers globally (46%) citing air quality and plastic pollution among the top three environmental concerns, according to the study. Nearly three out of five global consumers (58%) agree that extreme weather events such as floods and heatwaves where they live encourage them to do more activities to protect the environment. Meanwhile their sustainability efforts remain focused on such simple and frugal activities as using recycled packaging, planning meals to reduce food waste and reducing their clothing purchases, the study found.
Mintel’s research involved a survey of 1,000 Internet users over the age of 18 across 16 countries in April 2022, the firm noted.

Unlike pork markets in 2021, when higher prices were largely attributable to pandemic-related changes in consumer demand, this year supply factors appear to be supporting prices of both hogs and pork, USDA said in its August "Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook."
Lower numbers of slaughter-ready hogs clearing the market at higher year-over-year prices, leading to reduced pork supplies with continued sharply higher pork prices, are likely to continue for the balance of 2022, the report from the agency's Economic Research Service (ERS) said.
The July 2022 cutout reached an average value of $120.60 per cwt — the highest level since June 2021 — jumping more than 10% from its average value in June after averaging about $105 per cwt from February through May, the report said.
Slaughter down
Lower year-over-year monthly hog slaughter numbers were the most important factor driving January-to-July hog and pork prices, according to the ERS. The lower numbers are in line with information reported in successive Quarterly Hogs and Pigs reports since March 2021.
Although carcass weights have averaged higher since February of this year, lower slaughter numbers kept production below year-earlier levels through April. From May through July, however, higher carcass weights offset lower slaughter numbers, nudging pork production just over year-ago levels, after adjusting for slaughter-day differences.
USDA's forecasts for 2022 pork production and hog prices continue to support the scenario of reduced production and higher hog prices, the report said. In 2023, first-quarter production is expected to increase more than 1% to about 7 billion pounds, with hog prices also rising about 1% from year-earlier prices to $66 per cwt.
Second-quarter production is expected to be lower, based on the 1% year-over-year reduction in producer intentions shown in the June Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, the ERS said. Second-quarter pork production of about 6.5 billion pounds is anticipated, along with hog prices of $74 per cwt.

Supply chain issues and bird flu are making it harder for consumers to find turkey at grocery stores. “I would say over the past two or three weeks here they’ve had a sign up saying there’s a shortage,” Lisa Andersen said of her recent shopping trips. “We’ve had some off-brands they don’t normally carry. Sometimes they are completely out.” ​Some smaller companies can pivot from one supplier to another when supply gets low, but even so, it’s become a day-to-day guessing game. Click here to read the full article. 

By Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist
Drought advanced rapidly across Oklahoma in July. At the end of June, the Drought Monitor showed that 30.76% of the state was in some stage of drought (D1-D4) with another 15.15% abnormally dry (D0). Four weeks later, the July 26 Drought Monitor map showed that 100% of the state was dry with 99.81% in some stage of drought. In fact, 92.11% of the state was Severe drought (D2) or worse. ​

School nutrition professionals are gearing up for more supply chain challenges this upcoming school year, a new report by the School Nutrition Association reveals.
The report compiled findings from a series of listening sessions held this spring with school nutrition professionals, food distributors and state agency staff.
During the sessions, participants revealed their current supply chain struggles and anticipated another hard year for school foodservice. Click here to read the full article. 

Three months ago, Wingstop put a shocker in its earnings release: It was seeing DEFLATION in bone-in chicken wing costs. The chicken chain reiterated the trend with its latest results Thursday morning and its stock rallied 20% on the news.
“We are benefiting from meaningful deflation in bone-in wings,” CEO Michael Skipworth said. At a time when many consumers may have forgotten what deflation is, Wingstop explained that bone-in chicken wing prices have plunged 19% year-over-year in the latest quarter. Click here to read the full article. 

The US is poised to deliver a bumper spring wheat crop in the upcoming weeks, which if realized could help relieve global shortfalls caused by turmoil in the Black Sea.
Fields in North Dakota, the top producing US state, are forecast to yield a record high 49.1 bushels per acre of the grain, according to the final estimate of a three-day crop tour led by the Wheat Quality Council. North Dakota makes up about half of the US’s spring wheat crop. Click here to read the full article. 

U.S. trucking CEOs expect to maintain pricing power even with volumes softening in the second half of 2022 as retailers, manufacturers and consumers adjust to disruptions from Covid lockdowns, the Russia-Ukraine war and inflation.
A recent survey of customers by SAIA, a trucker for Starbucks, Home Depot and Lowe’s, found the majority of companies are still working to figure out their next step and what the “new normal” is for their business, according to CEO Fritz Holzgrefe. Click here to read the full article. 

Growing conditions in the Pacific Northwest were less than ideal this season. Nonetheless, onion producers in Washington and Oregon expect a good crop as harvest gets underway and onions head to storage.
Seattle-based FC Bloxom Co. works with several growers, shippers and packers in eastern Washington and markets yellow, red, white and sweet onions, said William Bloxom, an owner of the company. Harvesting of early yellow and red varieties was underway in mid-July and will run through September or October. He expected good production but said onions will not be as large as they were in past years. “It’s been a little cool,” Bloxom said. He also said the company’s acreage will be the same, but he expected higher yields. “It should be a pretty good harvest,” he said. Click here to read the full article. 

McDonald’s and Chipotle Mexican Grill say customers squeezed by inflation are choosing cheaper menu items and visiting their restaurants less often, signaling trends that could be hitting the broader restaurant industry.
The two companies were among the first restaurant chains to report their second-quarter results. Wingstop, Starbucks and Taco Bell owner Yum Brands are all scheduled to release their earnings reports within the next week. Click here to read the full article. 

In addition to reporting on unusual new products – such as a beer brewed with recycled hot dog water (!) and augmented reality contact lenses –Datassential shared several notable foodservice and retail movements in its recent Midyear Trends Report. According to the data firm’s information and analysis, consumers’ behavior in 2022 reflects their concern about prices, their interest in unique items and their embrace of technology in learning about and buying goods and services. Click here to read the full article. 

More than a third of the nation’s restaurants are putting their recruitment efforts on hold to protect margins from soaring wage rates, according to a new survey from the Alignable Research Center.
The inflationary pressure is so intense that 4% of establishments are even laying off workers, the researcher found. Click here to read the full article. 

Extreme drought and inflationary pressures are forcing US farmers in Western states to sell off their cattle herds in greater numbers, at levels not seen in over a decade.
Nearly 80% of the western region of the US is experiencing extreme drought conditions — and has been for nearly a year, according to the America Farm Bureau Federation. But the most recent week-long heatwave, impacting nearly 80 million people across the country, has brought things to a boiling point for farmers and ranchers. Click here to read the full article. 

On a quiet, drizzly Monday night in December 2021, Madison Shapiro decided on a whim to review Skirt Steak on @sistersnacking, a TikTok account she shares with her three sisters. She saw that the New York restaurant was drawing buzz for its $28 steak dinners with unlimited fries, and she knew timeliness was key. She quickly pulled together her positive review and sent it to her sisters for editing. They posted it two days later and by nightfall it hit a million views. Click here to read the full article.