From the origins of rice cultivation to contemporary haute cuisine, Black innovators have always been central to the story of American food. Now, a new Netflix series is telling it that way. (Wall Street Journal)

– Deere & Co., the iconic maker of tractors and combines, reported its second consecutive quarter of record profits Friday, with demand for farming and construction equipment driving earnings higher. (Des Moines Register)

The U.S. livestock industry continues to meet growing demand for its products around the world while reducing its carbon footprint. This despite an onslaught of claims to the contrary, including a recent academic study from North Carolina that attempts to link ag emissions with health issues and fatalities around the country. (Pontiac Daily Leader)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s biofuel blending mandates for this year and next are likely to be in line with those of 2020 as the agency accounts for weaker fuel demand since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, three sources familiar with the matter said. (Reuters)  

Suppliers and logistics providers say distributors are facing shortages of everyday products like chicken parts, as well as difficulty in finding workers and surging transportation costs as companies effectively try to reverse the big changes in food services that came as coronavirus lockdowns spread across the U.S. last year. (Wall Street Journal

Major League Baseball announced today that the National Corn Growers Association has agreed to become an official partner of this summer’s MLB at Field of Dreams event. The game will be played at a newly constructed ballpark adjacent to the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa on Thursday, August 12th and will be broadcast nationally on FOX. (KFGO