EPA rejects chlorpyrifos ban (Washington Post): The agency, facing a court order to make a decision, rejected a petition by environmental and public health groups to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos, which is widely used in agriculture.
USDA quashed climate plan (Politico): Top USDA officials decided in the early days of the Trump administration against releasing a plan that spelled out how the department would help the agriculture sector understand, adapt to, and minimize the effects of climate change.
If you say no to dollar stores, do you get a grocery? (Pacific Standard): Oklahoma City is trying a six-month experiment: a moratorium on new convenience stores while it drafts an ordinance designed to bring in more stores that sell fresh meat and produce.
Prevented-planting acreage may top 12 million (Pro Farmer): Sources says the USDA’s crop insurance agency estimates prevented-planting acreage at an unusually high 12.5 million acres for all crops this year, with corn accounting for up to 8 million acres and soybeans for up to 3 million acres.
Broadband boosts home values (Daily Yonder): A first-of-its-kind study finds marginally higher sales prices for rural homes with broadband than for those without.