Today’s quick hits, July 1, 2019

Plant burger ‘very good,’ says Perude (Bloomberg): Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue identifies himself as a meat eater but he tried a plant-based burger at Impossible Foods and declared it “very good” and a “good facsimile” of beef.

New crop, new dicamba reports (DTN/Progressive Farmer): The first reports of “off-target” dicamba damage are surfacing in states such as Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Illinois.

Rogue GMO wheat was created by Monsanto (Capital Press): The USDA said the GMO wheat found growing in a fallow field in Washington State this spring is the same strain that was found in Oregon in 2013.

Gottlieb joins Pfizer board (CNBC): Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who left the agency in April, will become a member of the board of Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company announced.

FDA won’t cede control of gene-edited livestock (Food Safety News): Deputy commissioner Anna Abram rebutted hog industry complaints about FDA oversight of gene-edited animals and in an interview gave no signs the FDA would give up the role.

Leeway on cover crops begins in 2020 (USDA): The USDA, carrying out instructions from the 2018 farm bill, has developed new guidelines that will give producers more flexibility, beginning with the 2020 crop year, on when to terminate cover crops while keeping crop insurance coverage.