Hot, dry and windy more often: The crop-damaging combination of heat, low humidity and wind is occurring more frequently in the southern Great Plains, from western Kansas into western Texas, than it did before 1950. (Kansas State University)
Loeffler gives her campaign $23 million: Senate Agriculture Committee member Kelly Loeffler, the richest U.S. senator, and her wealthy husband have donated $23 million to her election campaign in Georgia, making her the largest “self funder” this election cycle who was not running for president. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
USDA appeal over SNAP benefits: In a lawsuit over how to interpret a coronavirus relief law, the USDA has appealed a federal court decision that it should allow Pennsylvania to pay millions of dollars in larger SNAP benefits to its very poorest residents. (Politico)
OSHA fines JBS and ConAgra: The Labor Department fined JBS $13,494 for failure to “implement timely and effective measures” to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 at its Green Bay plant, and fined ConAgra $2,121 for record-keeping violations at its plant in Marshall, Missouri, also hit by a coronavirus outbreak. (Department of Labor)
Higher line speeds don’t mean more bacteria: The presence of Salmonella bacteria does not significantly increase when poultry plants run processing lines are higher speeds, says a study in Poultry Science. (The Poultry Site)