Nutritional quality of school food surges under 2010 reforms
Researchers say the nutritional quality of school meals increased by more than 40 percent following a 2010 mandate to serve healthier food.
Farmers could see “very low returns” on corn and soybeans
When overhead costs such as seed, fertilizer, equipment and insurance are counted, returns per acre could drop below land rental costs.
Many water wells in Iowa tainted by farm runoff, report finds
More than 40 percent of private wells tested positive for coliform bacteria at least once over a 16-year period, according to a new study of Iowa state records by the Environmental Working Group and the Iowa Environmental Council.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Missouri farmers want flood aid, too (KCUR): Gov. Mike Parson was expected to request a federal disaster declaration for flooded areas of northwestern Missouri, just downstream from parts of Nebraska and Iowa inundated by floods.
Who needs a supermarket? (Longreads): Retailer Rich Niemann and architect Kevin Kelley believe the supermarket of the future will be “a place where farmers and their urban customers can meet, a crucial link between the city and the country.”
The lobster and the whale (AP): The federal team trying to save the increasingly rare right whale is meeting this week to consider ways to reduce the risk of the whales becoming entangled in commercial lobster-fishing equipment off the New England coast.
Ag sector needs economic disaster package (NDFU): Ahead of a visit by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, the president of the North Dakota Farmers Union said “it is time for an economic disaster package that includes all commodities impacted by low prices due to trade and energy waivers.”
Registry needed for gene-edited crops (CSPI): Greg Jaffe, biotechnology project director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, proposes the government establish a national registry of gene-edited crops.
