**Still more crops are being included to the list of those covered by the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the additions Tuesday.

The list of newly added crops includes bananas, dates, dill, dragon fruit, filberts, horseradish, nectarines, parsley, pumpkins, nursery crops and flowers, all sheep, and aquaculture products including salmon, sturgeon and trout.

The USDA also extended the application deadline from August 28th to September 11th.

**The pandemic has spurred people's interest in fresh food, and speakers at a virtual conference of fresh-produce professionals say they expect that could continue after the virus fades.

A firm that researches trends in the food business says more people now value freshness and health in their foods.

As restaurants continue to struggle, produce suppliers say they're trying to package fresh fruits and vegetables in ways that require less labor in restaurant kitchens.

**The spike in COVID-19 cases in the South and Midwest is likely to impact the pattern of WHERE dairy is sold and consumed.

According to milkbusiness.com, a Datassential survey shows the number of people who were “very concerned” about COVID peaked at 67% in April before trending downward.

But as summer wore on and COVID cases came back with a vengeance in states like Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, consumer concern ramped back up and re-peaked at 58% in mid-July.

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