U.S. is driest in a decade, as drought moves eastward
More than six of every 10 acres in the continental United States is in drought, with arid conditions stretching from the Appalachians to the Pacific Coast, said the weekly Drought Monitor on Thursday. Conditions worsened in the Ohio Valley, as warm weather combined with below-normal precipitation to dry the Midwest.
Florida farm-labor recruiters sentenced for racketeering, human trafficking scheme
Two managers of a Florida farm-labor contracting company are going to federal prison for their role in a multi-state racketeering and human trafficking scheme. Between 2015 and 2017, federal prosecutors say, the company forced more than a dozen workers on H-2A visas to harvest crops against their will, while paying them less than they were owed.
Two Democrats on House Agriculture facing uphill fights
Two Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee, Reps. Tom O’Halleran of Arizona and Cindy Axne of Iowa, are in uphill fights for re-election against Republicans, according to political handicapper Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Whistleblower says AquaBounty plant unsafe: A former employee of the company, which produces genetically engineered salmon, alleges it committed numerous worker and consumer safety violations at its Indiana facility. (Agfunder News)
Shipt accused of misclassifying workers: In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, Karl Racine, attorney general of Washington, D.C., accused the popular grocery delivery service of trying to “cheat” workers out of wages and avoid payroll taxes. (The Verge)
Mexico to seek non-GMO corn: Mexico will not waver on its 2024 ban on imports of GMO corn and will seek agreements with farmers in the United States, Argentina, and Brazil to supply non-GMO yellow corn, said the deputy agriculture minister. A ban could halve U.S. corn sales to Mexico. (Reuters)
SNAP online orders double: The number of SNAP households that ordered groceries online at least once surged to 3.1 million last March, up from 1.5 million households in January 2021. (Quartz)
Less competition if grocers merge: The proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons, two of the nation’s largest supermarket chains, would mean store closures, worker layoffs, higher prices for consumers, and a tighter squeeze on suppliers, say critics. (Food & Power)
