More fat Trump tariff payments (New Food Economy): A single mailing address in Charleston, Missouri, received $2.78 million in USDA’s trade mitigation payments and 72 others received $500,000 or more from a program with a nominal payment limit of $125,000 a person.
Send disaster aid quickly (Florida Daily): Seven Florida lawmakers asked Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to allot $3 billion in long-delayed agricultural relief funds among states as rapidly as possible.
Better groundwater, in five years (Minneapolis Star-Tribune): The groundwater protection rule awaiting approval from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would bar farmers from applying nitrogen fertilizer in parts of the state during certain seasons.
Summer reading list (Food Tank): A list of 29 books aimed at food justice, agricultural sustainability and healthier diets includes Wendell Berry’s essays, the “Vegetables Unleashed” cookbook, a guide to ethical hog farming, a history of drive-through restaurants and a resource for community-scale composting.
The cost of fruit and vegetables (USDA): If Americans want to meet the Dietary Guidelines’ recommendations for fruits and vegetables, they could do it for $2.10-$2.60 a day, say researchers who priced out different combinations of popular fresh and processed fruits and vegetables that provide the appropriate variety.