The dairy company Land O' Lakes doesn't just sell butter. The brand is also a cooperative with over 3,600 members through its Farmer to Fork approach and is aware of the unique struggles American farmers face, specifically with the recent trade tensions.
The Trump administration has been involved with trade disputes for nearly two years, but Land O' Lakes CEO Beth Ford says the recent USMCA agreement was a major win. "The passage of USMCA is a big victory. Overall economy-wise it's about $1.4 trillion in sales," Ford told Cheddar.
However, some of those sales might not be coming from milk products. As consumers switch to more non-dairy products, milk consumption has seen a drop in sales with the market growth of almond and oat milk. But Ford said that dairy consumption hasn't been stronger. "Dairy prices have come down, but there is still growth in the sector. Cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream, all of those areas are growing."
During this time of year there is a peak in demand for butter, and to keep up with it Land O' Lakes has teamed up with the Silicon Valley startup Plus.ai to meet consumers' needs.
With the help of Plus.ai Land O'Lakes was able to complete the first-ever 2,800-mile coast-to-coast delivery with an autonomous truck in less than three days. There was a driver aboard at all times, but the truck drove itself the entire way. Still, "capacity is tight because driver shortages continue to be a pressure on sectors," Ford said.
The company plans to continue to work with innovative partners and digital suppliers to improve customer experience. "So, with this autonomous vehicle, we can see the pathway to the future," Ford said.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
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