A veggie Rx for Medicaid (Food Bank News): Celebrity chef and food activist Michel Nischan, who made waves with the “double-up” initiative for buying fruits and vegetables with food stamps, now envisions tapping into Medicaid to provide access to healthy food for millions of additional people.
Bayer asks court to ditch multimillion-dollar judgment (Reuters): The maker of glyphosate, the world’s most widely used weedkiller, said in a filing in a California appellate court that there is no proof the herbicide causes cancer, and that the court should overturn a $78-million judgment in favor of a school groundskeeper.
Soda tax delayed, not dead, says sponsor (Food Dive): Although a bill proposing a 2-cent-an-ounce tax on sugary beverages did not get committee approval in time to advance to the floor of the California Assembly, sponsor Richard Bloom says “we will now have time to build an even bigger and stronger coalition of supporters” for next year.
House ag panelist sticks with Trump (MinnPost): After winning election by 1,311 votes, House Agriculture Committee member Jim Hagedorn has voted with President Trump 95 percent of the time and predicts Trump’s trade wars will pay off for farmers in his southern Minnesota district.
Walmart creates its own farm-to-store beef supply (Chain Store Age): The company, the largest U.S. grocer, said it will deal directly with ranchers, feedlots, processors, and packagers in an end-to-end supply chain to provide a selection of beef cuts to 500 of its stores in the U.S. Southeast.
Mexico buys lots of Brazilian soy (AgriCensus): Brazil will ship an estimated 290,000 tonnes of soybeans to Mexico in the first three months of its marketing year, which opened on Feb. 1. That would more than double the 120,000 tonnes sold in the same period in 2018 and would be nine times more than usual for the first quarter.
NCBA’s Frazier to retire (NCBA): Kendall Frazier, a part of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association for three decades and its chief executive for the past four years, will retire on Dec. 31. The organization says he was instrumental in passing the beef checkoff referendum in 1988.