By the time you receive this July 21 issue of the magazine, Congress and the President will be at a make-or-break moment on a bargain to raise the debt ceiling and avoid default on American debt, which some say would be “catastrophic.”

New Mexico dairy farmers, environmentalists and the state have settled a dispute over the regulation of dairy farm waste.

Dean Foods Co., one of the largest dairy distributors in the United States, says it has agreed to pay $140 million to settle a lawsuit over pricing with a group of dairy farmers in the Southeast.

Officials say the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service in Arkansas is getting $4.26 million in additional funding to help producers.

U.S. House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin C. Peterson, D-Minnesota, made the following statement after releasing a dairy reform discussion draft that would offer protection, create stability and inspire growth in the dairy sector. The draft language is based on reform proposals put forward by the dairy industry. “I released this discussion draft now because we need to act before the next farm bill. If we have another dairy crisis like we had in 2009, we could lose half our dairies. The discussion draft allows us to keep the ball moving while continuing to have a dialogue with the dairy industry.

Parents seeking healthier restaurant meals for their kids can start to look beyond chicken nuggets and macaroni-and-cheese. At least 19 restaurant chains – including Burger King, Chili's, IHOP and Friendly's – said Wednesday that they will include healthier options on their children's menus. At least 15,000 restaurant locations will focus on increasing servings of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy. The items will have less fats, sugars and sodium.

Officials announced plans Thursday for a $105 million loan guarantee to help develop the nation's first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant near Emmetsburg. When completed, the plant will produce up to 25 million gallons of ethanol per year. Unlike existing ethanol plants, which produce the fuel from corn, the new facility will use stalks, corncobs and leaves to produce ethanol.

Two senators from ethanol-producing states proposed to immediately end a tax credit for the corn-based fuel and agreeing to support shifting some of that money to debt reduction. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, and John Thune, R-South Dakota, along with ethanol opponent Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, have proposed diverting $1.3 billion of the money remaining for the tax break this year to pay for debt reduction. And $668 million will be used for incentives for the ethanol and biofuels industries.

The U.N. says global investments in renewable energy jumped 32 percent to $211 billion last year, boosted by wind farm development in China and rooftop solar panels in Europe. A report by the U.N. Environment Program shows that solar, wind, biomass and other forms of green energy are gaining momentum, despite the lack of progress in international climate talks aimed at slowing emissions of heat-trapping gases from fossil fuels.

Kids who grow up on traditional farms are 30 percent to 50 percent less likely than other children to develop asthma, a new study shows. But it's not the fresh country air. It's the germs.