Today’s quick hits, June 2, 2023

Milk pricing plan: The USDA said it would consider a proposal from the National Milk Producers Federation to amend provisions used to set the minimum price paid to farmers for fresh milk. (Agricultural Marketing Service)

Iowa fish kills: Agriculture was responsible for 35 percent of the fish kills in the state over the past four decades, though the industry has paid only minimal penalties for the incidents. (Investigate Midwest)

Drought looms in Midwest: While drought is expected to ease in June in the southern and central Plains, it could spread across large parts of the Midwest and the Ohio Valley. (National Weather Service)

Lawmakers urge USMCA action: Five dozen members of the U.S. House called on the Biden administration to file a USMCA trade complaint against Mexico for barring imports of GMO corn intended for human consumption. (Rep. Smith)

Violations in California vineyard: Two farm labor contractors and a central California winery are facing a combined $231,000 in penalties after the Labor Department found they had committed multiple violations, including rampant wage theft. (U.S. Department of Labor)

‘Perfectly logical, extravagantly bizarre’: When the U.S. meat supply became unusually tight in the early 1900s, Rep. Robert Broussard of Louisiana recommended hippopotamus ranching as a solution. (Smithsonian)