Today’s quick hits, Sept. 3, 2020

New EPA office to focus on mine cleanup: Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the EPA would create an Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains, located in Lakewood, Colorado, to focus on cleaning up hardrock mining sites west of the Mississippi River. (EPA)

China faces corn shortfall: Domestic corn prices are soaring in China on fears of a shortage of livestock feed, fueling hopes among corn-exporting nations of large sales to a hungry customer. (Reuters)

Fewer choices for grocery shoppers: As Americans spend more at the grocery store because they are eating at home more frequently during the pandemic, stores and foodmakers are offering a smaller selection of goods, “slowing a years-long trend … that put ‘good for you’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ spins on established and much-loved products.” (Washington Post)

U-Pick? You bet: Business is booming at “pick your own” farms in Ohio, with the farms providing a form of entertainment for customers who choose their own food while staying a Covid-safe distance from one another. (Growing Produce)

CEO switch at Indigo Ag: David Perry, who had been chief executive of Indigo Ag, an agricultural technology company, since 2014, abruptly stepped down without explanation and was replaced by Ron Hovespian, most recently the firm’s chief operating officer. (Boston Globe)