Biggest outbreak in a year: Highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed on an egg farm with 1.62 million hens in northwestern Iowa. It is the biggest U.S. outbreak since one on a Nebraska egg farm last November. (USDA)
Costly rural internet: Data submitted to the FCC shows that while rural Americans pay $13 more per month than urban residents for basic internet service, the gap gets smaller when there are at least two providers. (Daily Yonder)
Wolverine threatened: The Interior Department said it would list the North American wolverine, found in mountainous parts of the U.S. Northwest, as a threatened species because of habitat loss, much of it a result of climate change. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Water worries in Arizona: There are no regulations on pumping groundwater in rural Arizona, and residents of the state’s McMullen Valley are concerned that heavy water use on alfalfa farms will deplete the supply of drinking water. (Associated Press)
‘Triple dip’ for rice: From 2017 to 2021, rice farmers received more than $3 billion combined from three farm support programs, a total that does not include trade war assistance, said a group that opposes higher crop subsidy spending in the new farm bill. (EWG)