Spotlight: Almond Growers Lose Fight Against USDA

California almond growers and processors lost a constitutional challenge to U.S. Department of Agriculture marketing programs that limit crop sales by farmers. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider the growers’ claim that mandatory rules that pull a percentage of almonds off the market in most years constitute an illegal government seizure of private property without compensation. The program is one of many the government uses to try to regulate crop supplies and prices.