Snowy Sierra turnaround: Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is far deeper and wetter than usual — 202 percent of average at Echo Summit — following a series of blizzards that is creating optimism about an easing of California’s water shortage. (Bay Area News Group)
Meatpacking plant anger: Workers at the vast JBS beef processing plant in Greeley, Colorado, say social-distancing rules have been eased in parts of the plant, there isn’t enough hand sanitizer and managers pressure them to come to work even when they are ill. (New York Times)
Redistricted, Spanberger runs: Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, chairwoman of the House Agriculture subcommittee on conservation, said she will run in the redrawn 7th House District in Virginia, which is north of the Richmond suburbs where she resides. (Washington Post)
More Chinese soybeans: At an annual planning conference, Chinese leaders called for increased production of soybeans and other oilseeds, stabilization of grain production and an efficient supply of livestock, fish products and vegetables in 2022. (The Singapore Time)
USDA state directors: President Biden appointed five state directors for USDA agencies, including John Berge, who was White House liaison to USDA during the Obama era, as Nebraska director of the Farm Service Agency. (White House)