Pork will cost less: For the fourth month in a row, the USDA lowered its forecast of grocery price inflation, now pegged at 5.9 percent, and said pork prices would fall 2.1 percent, the first food category with lower prices than in 2022. (USDA)
USDA eyes HPAI: Bird flu has dwindled as a threat to U.S. poultry flocks, but because it remains prevalent among wild birds the USDA transferred $502 million to its animal-health agency so it will be ready to act if HPAI surges. (USDA)
Restore war-damaged farmland: Two UN agencies launched a project to clear mines from cropland owned by smallholder farmers in Ukraine with the twin goals of increasing local agricultural production and reducing the need for rural food aid. (FAO/WFP)
Destructive snail: Florida agriculture officials declared a quarantine area in Miramar, north of Miami, following the discovery of one Giant African land snail, an invasive species that consumes more than 500 different types of plants and may carry a parasite that causes meningitis in people. (NPR)
Peach crop heavily damaged: A warm winter followed by March freezes wreaked havoc with this year’s peach crop in Georgia, with some experts saying the harvest may be only 5 percent of normal. (Washington Post)