TEFAP funding needed: One fifth of House members signed a letter in support of an additional $900 million this year for the Emergency Food Assistance Program to help food banks meet continued high demand for aid. (Rep. Panetta)
Rapid ASF test: A Purdue researcher received a $1 million grant in hopes of developing a pen-side test that will tell within 30 minutes if pigs are infected with highly contagious African swine fever, a deadly hog disease. (Purdue)
Wheat at 14-year high: U.S. wheat futures hit a 14-year high of $9.84 a bushel, propelled by the possibility of prolonged disruption of supplies due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; those two nations grow 14 percent of the world’s wheat. (Reuters)
NFU re-elects Larew: Delegates elected Rob Larew to his second two-year term as president of the National Farmers Union at the organization’s 120th annual convention. (NFU)
Potatoes go bananas: Researchers have found that planting potatoes in a paper pouch created from banana tree fibers vastly reduces the threat of damage by the potato cyst nematode, a microscopic worm that can reduce harvests by 70 percent. (Science)