Obesity rose during pandemic: Obesity among adult Americans rose by 3 percent during the first year of the pandemic, according to a survey analysis by a USDA researcher. (USDA)
Almonds in a pickle: Almond growers in California face a delivery and cash-flow crunch, with exports stalled at seaports, a huge crop ready for harvest and prices falling to an all-time low. (Los Angeles Times)
Japan aids Ukraine grain: Japan will pay for a $17 million project to help Ukrainian farmers store their grain in temporary shelters and help the government develop alternate transport routes for grain exports, since its Black Sea ports are blockaded. (World Grain)
Deeble named USDA official: Eric Deeble, formerly policy director at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, was named Agriculture deputy assistant secretary for congressional relations. (USDA)
Bird flu kills seals: Highly pathogenic avian influenza is behind the higher-than-usual number of seal strandings and deaths along the Maine coast this summer, say federal officials. (Associated Press)