The USDA should reject the checkoff program proposed by the organic industry, says a coalition of opponents, who contend the checkoff would fail to expand U.S. production despite seemingly insatiable consumer demand.

In a first-round vote, the Philadelphia City Council voted for a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks and diet sodas. Council members must approve the levy for a second time next Thursday to become the second city in the country with a soda tax, "but it appears they have reached the final deal," said Philadelphia Magazine.

Crop and livestock producers are less optimistic about the economic outlook for the farm sector, according to the Ag Economy Barometer sponsored by Purdue and the CME Group. The chief reason was a decline in cattle prices during May, said Purdue economist Jim Mintert.

Chickpea prices have soared 44 percent in the past year to reach an all-time high in India, says Agrimoney. India is the world's largest consumer of chickpeas but the pulse is in short supply because of drought.

The third-largest producer of agricultural chemicals, German-based BASF "is not backed into a corner" by the wave of mergers among the world's largest seed and agricultural-chemical companies, says deputy chief executive Martin Brudermueller.

Baby fish prefer plastic particles to the zooplankton that makes up their natural diet, according to a study published in the journal Science. The researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden "found that the larval fish that were exposed to microplastic particles displayed a shift in behavior and stunted growth," reports The Christian Science Monitor in an article on the study.

The Humane Society of the United States is calling for state and federal investigations after it released undercover video, from one of New England’s largest egg producers, that shows chickens caked in feces and packed in tiny cages, in some cases with dead and mummified birds.

A proposal for humane treatment of livestock on organic farms will remain open for comment an additional 30 days, through July 13, said USDA. Among its provisions, the proposed regulation on animal welfare would require poultry farms to encourage all birds to go outside every day, eventually ending confinement-style egg production.

A bill for mandatory labeling of GMO foods advanced to the Rules Committee in the New York Assembly, the lower house of the state legislature. The group GMO Free NY said it was up to Speaker Carl Heastie "to move the bill forward to a floor vote or let it die even though there are 82 of 150 Assemblymembers as cosponsors of the bill."

Known for his advice, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants," author Michael Pollan says the food system looks much like it did 10 years when he published "The Omnivore's Dilemma." Yet, Pollan tells the website New Food Economy, "The simple question that got me started on the book — where does your food come from? — is now front-of-mind for a lot of people."

A common job for cowboys — for some, it's an all-day duty — is riding through herds to check on cattle health. With labor getting harder to find, Salah Sukkarieh, an Australian professor of robots, is developing a solar- and electric-powered four-wheel robot to handle the work, reports the Washington Post.

The European Commission’s plan to temporarily extend the glyphosate sales license was thwarted Monday when France, Germany, and Italy abstained from voting on the proposal, leaving the commission short of the requisite population threshold for approval, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The Codes Committee of the New York Assembly, the lower house of the state legislature, approved a GMO food labeling bill on a 12-9 vote with less than two weeks left in the session. Lawmakers said the committee vote was a sign the labeling bill, which now needs approval by the Ways and Means Committee, has strength to pass this year.

Between December and March this year, prime pollinating season, 1,734 beehives were stolen from almond groves in California, the nation’s largest producer of the nuts. It is part of a troubling, and relatively new, criminal enterprise that has caught both growers and law enforcement by surprise.

It's our fifth birthday! To celebrate, we’re publishing a first-ever print collection of our work called "The Dirt: Dispatches from the front lines of food and farming 2011-2016."