USDA funds clean energy projects: More than 700 projects from California to Pennsylvania will share $238 million in grants and loans to expand the use of clean energy in rural America and to encourage sales of higher-blend biofuels, said Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small. (USDA)
When did cows get bird flu?: There is a strong possibility that the bird flu virus circulated undetected for months in dairy cattle before it was identified in March, said the head of the ecology and evolutionary biology department at the University of Arizona. (CIDRAP)
Merger may reduce grain competition: The proposed merger of grain handlers Bunge and Viterra is “likely to result in substantial anti-competitive effects and a significant loss of rivalry between Viterra and Bunge in agricultural markets in Canada,” said the Competition Bureau. (Reuters)
ADM financial officer to resign: Vikram Luthar, suspended from his duties as chief financial officer of Archer-Daniels-Midland, will resign effective Sept. 30, said the company, whose accounting practices are under Justice Department review. (CFO Dive)
USAID loses top official: Deputy administrator Paloma Adams Allen, who oversees the day-to-day operation of the U.S. Agency for International Development, plans to leave the agency soon, said three unnamed sources. (Devex)