GMO wheat in Australia: Bioceres, the developer of GMO wheat, will seek approval to plant its HB4 wheat in Australia in 2024 and has applied for permission to grow the drought- and herbicide-tolerant crop in the United States. (Reuters)
Overtime for farmworkers: Farmworkers across the country would qualify for overtime pay under a Senate bill introduced by Sen. Alex Padilla of California, one of the minority of states that currently mandates overtime pay on the farm. (Padilla)
Flores joins House Ag: Republican Rep. Mayra Flores, winner of a special House election in southern Texas, was appointed to the House Agriculture Committee. (House Agriculture Republicans)
Indicators of smoke taint: Researchers have identified a class of sulfur-containing compounds, called thiophenols, that can cause smoke taint in wine. The discovery could help vintners mitigate damage to wine grapes from wildfire smoke. (Oregon State University)
Supersized bacteria: Most bacteria are microscopic, but researchers have found a bacterium in a Caribbean mangrove swamp that’s big enough — the size of an eyelash — to be seen with the naked eye. (Associated Press)