Veterans’ SNAP hurdles (Harvest Public Media): Because the government counts soldiers’ housing allowances as income, many veterans who would otherwise qualify for SNAP can’t get the benefits.
Asthma risk for farmworkers’ children (Oregon Public Broadcasting): Children of farmworkers in Yakima, Washington, face high rates of asthma as a result of exposure to pesticides and dust from the large-scale farming operations where their parents work.
Nuts about almonds (Fresno Bee): Almond orchards expanded 7 percent in California, to a record 1.3 million acres; the state grows 80 percent of the world supply of the nut.
AquaBounty gets OK for Indiana facility (FDA): The developer of a faster-growing GMO salmon has FDA approval to grow the fish at a land-based facility near Albany, Indiana, but is barred from importing the eggs that would produce the salmon.
Farm bill may aid Chesapeake Bay cleanup (DelMarVa Daily Times): Ten senators asked Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts to include in the farm bill provisions to triple the funding for control of agricultural runoff into the Chesapeake Bay.
Bigger farms, fewer people (The New Food Economy): The rural population of Kansas, on the farm and in small towns, is shrinking at the same time agricultural production is consolidating; 55 counties have less than 10 people per square mile.
Arkansas court blocks dicamba use (Associated Press): The state Supreme Court blocked rulings for two county court judges that exempted some farmers from a state ban on using the weedkiller dicamba on cotton and soybeans during the growing season.