Today’s quick hits, Oct. 14, 2021

USDA vaccination deadline: All USDA employees must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 22 or seek a medical or religious exemption, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a memo to employees. (USDA)

Deere strike possible: More than 10,000 workers at Deere and Co, the world’s largest manufacturer of farm equipment, could go on strike on Thursday in a contract dispute that includes union requests for post-retirement healthcare. (WQAD-TV)

Northeast dairy aid: Stonyfield Organic said it would invite into its direct supply program “a number” of the 89 organic dairies in the Northeast that are losing contracts with Danone North America. (Vermont Business Magazine)

‘Damage and loss’: Drought is the largest culprit in agricultural losses in least-developed nations and low-to-middle-income countries, followed by floods, storms, and crop and livestock pests and disease. (Food and Agriculture Organization)

Vilsack, Villalobos to meet: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Mexico’s minister of agriculture and rural development, Victor Manuel Villalobos Arambula, will hold bilateral meetings and participate in the World Food Prize symposium next week in Iowa. (FERN’s Ag Insider)