Quick hits: farmers brace for inflation; bipartisan bill to help rural opioid crisis passes Senate; food supply-chain loans

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email heather.chapman@uky.edu.

The Senate has passed a bipartisan bill targeting the rural opioid epidemic. The bill now goes to the House. Read more here.

A Purdue University poll found that more than half of farmers are bracing for inflation-triggered production cost increases over the next year. Read more here.

The Biden administration is providing up to $1 billion in loan guarantees to expand food supply-chain capacity; the program is mean to result in fairer prices for farmers and greater consumer access to healthier foods. The application window opened Thursday and will remain open until Feb. 7. Read more here.

A new stem-cell study paves the way for manufacturing cultured meat. Read more here.