Cherry farmers allege unfair competition (Agri-Pulse): Michigan cherry farmers charge that dried tart cherries from Turkey are being imported at below market value, undermining the value of their own harvest.
USDA to run disease lab (USDA): Officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the USDA signed a memorandum saying the USDA will own and operate the $1.25 billion National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, the most advanced disease laboratory in the country, when it is commissioned in 2021.
From soybean pest to butterfly (Harvest Public Media): Although the thistle caterpillar eventually transforms into the painted lady butterfly — “a fluttering swath of color” — before it does it feasts on the leaves of soybean plants to build its webbed cocoon.
The jail that held Cesar Chavez (Monterey County Weekly): Monterey County is accepting proposals through July 9 for the rehabilitation and reuse of the now-dilapidated jail in Salinas that housed the famous farmworker activist for 20 days in 1970.