As promised by EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, the administration immediately began work to replace the Waters of the United States rule that was a target of President Trump's campaign. On the same day that Trump signed an executive order to roll back WOTUS, Pruitt signed a Federal Register notice of "intention to review and rescind or revise" WOTUS.

In the wettest winter in California in 20 years, the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains is 185 percent above average, says the LA Times, according to measurements by the California Department of Water Resources. In the Southern Sierras, the snowpack is even higher — at 201 percent above average.

After accumulating the largest cotton surplus in the world — more than double its annual crop — China is steadily disposing of its state-held stockpile. The government is scheduled to begin daily auctions of cotton from its reserves on Monday and the International Cotton Advisory Committee says that a successful season would reduce China's share of the world stockpile to 45 percent by the end of 2017/18 — the first time in six years that China holds less than half of the world surplus.

The largest of the ethanol trade groups, the Renewable Fuels Association, is out in the cold for supporting a change in the program that gives biofuels a share of the U.S. gasoline market. Fuels America, an agribusiness coalition "committed to protecting America's Renewable Fuels Standard," severed ties with RFA, while the second-largest ethanol group, Growth Energy, said the RFA was doing the dirty work of the oil industry.

More than 700 of the 4,000 wild bee species in North America and Hawaii are seeing falling numbers due to habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change and monoculture farming, says the Center for Biological Diversity.

A study in the journal PLOS ONE found that six members of a 20-member panel studying genetically engineered crops had one or more financial conflicts of interest, none of which were disclosed in the panel's report.

Scientists have discovered that bumble bees "actually can learn to use a new tool by watching others," says the Los Angeles Times. The results "add to a growing body of work showing that these kinds of smarts aren’t limited to bigger-brained, vertebrate animals (such as humans)." The research, published in the journal Science, went beyond so-called swarm intelligence to look at the capacity of individual bees.

The Conservation Reserve, which pays landowners to idle fragile cropland, should be expanded to 40 million acres from its current 24 million acres, said Pheasants Forever, a hunting and wildlife habitat group, at the first congressional subcommittee hearing for the 2018 farm bill. Land stewardship and farm groups urged larger funding for two USDA programs aimed at working lands.

The corn ethanol industry squabbled over a rumored White House overhaul of the Renewable Fuels Standard, which guarantees biofuels a share of the gasoline market and provides a market for more than a third of the U.S. corn crop. By the end of the day, however, the White House knocked down talk that it would allow year-round sales of a 15 percent blend of ethanol, a step up from the 10 percent blend that is now standard, and potentially a large expansion in ethanol sales.

With Democrats demanding full consideration of President Trump's cabinet nominees, the Senate is expected to vote today at mid-morning on the nomination of Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke for Interior secretary. He would win confirmation easily, if the 67-31 vote on Monday to limit debate on the nomination is an indicator.

First Lady Melania Trump announced recently that she will maintain the kitchen garden that was a hallmark of Michelle Obama. The New York Times says chefs and others interested in food "are still waiting for more definitive signs of how the Trumps will feed themselves and their guests, and whether they will set — as previous administrations have — a culinary example for the nation."

Ray Starling, who grew up on a farm in North Carolina and worked as chief of staff for Sen. Thom Tillis, will serve as White House adviser on agriculture, trade and food assistance, said the National Economic Council. The National Pork Producers Council, a farm group, called the appointment "a clear signal of (President Trump's) commitment to reverse unnecessary regulations inhibiting pork producers and all U.S. farmers."

U.S. spending on agricultural research has flat-lined and jeopardizes American standing as a leader in ag innovation while Brazil, China and India together out-spend the United States 2-to-1, according to a briefing paper by two University of Minnesota researchers. The paper calls "for a doubling of such spending ov

Spring officially arrives March 20, three weeks from now, but spring-like weather is arriving two to three weeks early in the southern United States and "is likely to keep rolling north," says the U.S. Geological Survey. The Interior Department agency, which links early arrival of warm weather to climate change, says the change in timing poses challenges for human health and for food production.

U.S. farmers are projected to plant 88 million acres of soybeans, up 5 percent from the record set last year, while cutting back on corn and wheat, said USDA chief economist Robert Johansson. Futures prices indicate soybeans will be more profitable than corn and wheat this year.

Nearly 2 million acres — 3,100 square miles — of forested land were cleared for agriculture in the Brazilian Amazon in the year ending July 2016, while Bolivia has cut down 865,000 acres, equal to 1,351 square miles, annually, says The New York Times. "A decade after the 'Save the Rainforest' movement forced changes that dramatically slowed deforestation across the Amazon basin, activity is roaring back in some of the biggest expanses of forests in the world," said the newspaper.