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TOP HEADLINES
Trump campaign auditioning for ‘all-star’ cast of ag supporters:
Donald Trump’s campaign, looking to shore up its rural support in key swing states, is organizing an “all-star cast” of agribusiness leaders behind the campaign and rolling out in coming days its farm policy agenda [Agri-Pulse].
The next GMO-labeling battleground: USDA:
Congress may have wiped its hands of the GMO labeling bill it sent to the White House last week, but the fight is far from over [Politico].
ELECTIONS
Donald Trump takes center stage with tonight’s acceptance speech:
Tonight Donald Trump will accept the Republican nomination for President of the United States. To say the GOP Convention has ebbed-and-flowed would be an understatement [AFBF].
Nebraskan given prominent ag position of Donald Trump campaign:
Charles W. Herbster, a farmer and businessman from southeast Nebraska, has been named National Chairman of the Agricultural and Rural Advisory Board and Committee of the Donald J. Trump campaign [KWBE].
Tom Vilsack: A rise from orphanage to secretary:
Back in Iowa last weekend, Vilsack declined to acknowledge whether he’s being considered for another celebrated chapter — as running mate to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton [AP].
There’s something disturbing about one of Hillary’s top VP picks:
If she picks Vilsack and the ticket wins, the country will have its first vice president to be plucked from the USDA since Franklin Roosevelt tapped Vilsack’s fellow Iowan Henry Wallace in 1940 [Mother Jones].
MISCELLANEOUS
Monsanto rejects Bayer offer as ‘financially inadequate’:
Monsanto Co. rejected Bayer AG’s $55 billion takeover offer, leaving the German chemical giant to decide whether to raise its bid a second time in its quest to create the world’s largest producer of seeds and pesticides [Bloomberg].
From GMOs to robots, the fight over the future of food is here:
Area farmers and industry associations contend that their operating models are threatened by increasing global commodity competition, unresolved immigration discord and rising wages — not to mention increasing environmental hazards such as droughts, floods and fires. Amid all this, a range of technology providers are rushing to supply drones, sensors, data analytics tools and robots [GreenBiz].
Walmart, America’s largest grocer, is now selling ugly fruit and vegetables:
Over the past few years, so-called ugly fruit and vegetables have been gaining a host of admirers. Now, Wal-Mart has officially joined the bandwagon [NPR].
