"As he paddled Virginia’s Shenandoah River on a hot day last July, Mark Frondorf came upon a father and two children. “They were just tubing down the river, just two little munchkins, happy as can be,” he said. It was a idyllic sight — except for the herd of cows Frondorf noticed wading on the water’s edge nearby."
"President Donald Trump finally has a point person for rural issues after the Senate approved Sonny Perdue to lead the Department of Agriculture by a vote of 87-11 Monday evening."
"In 1945, the American Chemical Paint Company introduced its product Weedone, the first herbicide ever to hit the market that killed broad-leaved plants but not grasses. On farms, the weedkiller reduced the need for pulling weeds in grain fields, a godsend during the post-war labor shortage."
"A fungus that causes 'vomitoxin' has been found in some U.S. corn harvested last year, forcing poultry and pork farmers to test their grain, and giving headaches to grain growers already wrestling with massive supplies and low prices."
"In late 2014, a whistleblower scientist rocked the Agriculture Department with a charge that it retaliated against him because his research found that a popular and lucrative farm pesticide might harm pollinators such as bees."
"Canada's food regulator has found traces of a controversial pesticide in nearly one-third of food products — and residue levels above the acceptable limits in about four per cent of grain products."
"U.S. EPA plans to repeal and replace the Clean Water Rule with two separate rulemaking processes, an EPA official told the Association of State Wetland Managers yesterday."
"In a win for environmentalists, a federal court [Tuesday] tossed a George W. Bush-era rule exempting animal feeding operations from certain pollution reporting requirements."
"One of the worst droughts in California history has officially ended, Governor Jerry Brown declared on Friday, but not before it strained the state's farm economy and threatened water supplies for millions of residents."
"An ongoing fight over a controversial pipeline project to pump water out of California's Mojave Desert has sparked allegations that the project is being pushed by the rumored pick for a top Interior post who could gain financially if the project is approved."
