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Persistent Cover Crop Adoption Varies by Primary Commodity Crop The use of cover crops on U.S. cropland increased by 50 percent between 2012 and 2017. During this period, Federal and State conservation programs increased efforts to promote cover crops through financial and technical assistance. Cover crops such as unharvested cereal rye, oats, winter wheat, or clover are typically added to a crop rotation during the period in between two commodity or forage crops. Cover crops provide a living, seasonal coverage of soil that can result in a variety of on-farm benefits such as increased soil moisture capacity. Cover crops can also provide public environmental benefits such as less runoff of sediments and nutrients into waterways, reduced flooding in watersheds, and greater soil carbon sequestration. ....
this post authored by Emily Green The COVID-19 pandemic hit meat processing facilities in the United States suddenly and dramatically. Between April 9 and April 27, more than 4,900 COVID-19 cases were reported among 115 different meat and poultry processing facilities. Rising cases and contamination fears led major processors, such as Smithfield, Va.-based Smithfield Foods, to shut down plants in April. During this period, large retailers like Kroger and Costco implemented meat rationing. These developments prompted President Donald Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act on April 28, compelling plants to remain open - and brought the resilience of the meat supply chain under scrutiny. ....