New disaster aid includes sugar beets (USDA): With $1.5 billion in additional funding from Congress, USDA adds drought and excessive moisture to the weather damages in 2018 and 2019 that are eligible for disaster relief.
Drought chances in California: 80 percent (Capital Public Radio): After the driest February on record in parts of the state, there’s an 80-percent chance of a full-blown drought in California this year.
Mississippi Delta, the ‘next California’ (World Wildlife Fund): The Delta, which begins at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and covers eastern Arkansas, northwestern Mississippi, western Tennessee and southeastern Missouri, could be the next major producer of fruits and vegetables due to a warming climate.
Founder of Trader Joe’s dies (Washington Post): Joe Coulombe, the “Joe” who founded Trader Joe’s, a specialty grocery chain, died at age 89 in his home in Pasadena, California.
Not missing a paycheck (Iowa Starting Line): Ethanol maker Quad County Corn Processors lowered production volumes and took a longer than usual shutdown for maintenance in order to weather a sour market for biofuels, but it hasn’t missed payroll.
Grapes and almonds and salt (The Counter): Researchers in California use techniques as basic as scouting for wild grapes and as exotic as examining almond genes in the search for varieties that can withstand salty soils and still produce a desirable crop.