In "the opening shot of 2017," health advocates filed suit in federal court in Oakland, Calif., accusing Coca-Cola and the trade group American Beverage Association of deceiving consumers of the health risk of sugary drinks and saying there was no link between sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity, says Quartz. Coca-Cola said the lawsuit was "legally and factually meritless."

The EPA has saddled farmers and ranchers with "burdensome, unnecessary and, too often, unlawful federal regulations," said the American Farm Bureau Federation in calling for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to approve Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt to lead the agency. "We desperately need an administrator who understands the challenges our farmers and ranchers face in producing safe, wholesome and affordable food for our nation and the world."

In the key wheat states of Kansas and Oklahoma, the winter wheat is in significantly poorer condition than it was in late November due to adverse weather in the past month, said Reuters, which compared current ratings with a Nov. 27 report.

Instead of waiting for customers to walk through the door, "smart rural businesses are using the same omni channel tactics as big businesses," says Small Business Trends in listing eight rural and small town trends for the new year.

Given the choice, Corn Belt farmers vastly prefer revenue guarantees for their crop, whether through crop insurance or farm subsidies, over coverage that is based on yields, says economist Gary Schnitkey of the University of Illinois. The research shows why proposals to revamp the federally subsidized crop insurance program typically bog down in Congress.

Come November, 11 months from now, Minnesota farmers will be required to leave a 50-foot strip of permanent vegetation along waterways to filter runoff from their fields – a landmark conservation effort. However, Minnesota Public Radio says some county officials are asking for a delay because of confusion over how the law is supposed to work and a lack of money for them to enforce it.

Up to 76 percent of the global population of 7.2 billion is "overfat" - a term that a new study published in Frontier Public Health says refers to “a condition of having sufficient excess body fat to impair health.” It includes the 39-49 percent of the global population that qualify as obese, as well as those falling into current standards for normal fat levels.

As the India government overhauls the nation’s currency, the country’s 119 million farmers are struggling to find the cash they need to pay workers and cover costs, says NPR. The country is essentially cash-based, and farmers especially rely on having money in hand, rather than in the bank or on credit.

Five nations – India, China, the United States, Pakistan and Brazil – account for three-fourths of global cotton production and all of them, except for China, will expand output in the current trade year, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee. With harvests forecast to rise by 8 percent worldwide, there will be pressure on cotton prices during the final half of the year.

With the rise in imports of GMO crops and foods, Japan is considering an expansion of mandatory labeling, which now applies to 33 food items, sources in the Consumer Affairs Agency told the Kyodo news agency. The food industry and consumer groups "are expected to engage in a tug of war over where to draw the line," said the news agency.

Low commodity prices are depressing farm income, farmland values and repayment rates on farm loans, says the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, while larger-than-expected farm exports "seemed only to keep prices for some commodities from dropping further."

A roundup of some noteworthy stories from the last few days.

The wine industry contributes an estimated $2 billion to the Texas state economy, but winegrowers say their livelihood is under threat by weedkillers intended for use on genetically engineered cotton. They are not placated by EPA assurances that new herbicides use formulations that are less prone to drift onto neighboring land in the No. 1 cotton state, or that spray rigs will use anti-drift nozzles, says the Texas Tribune.

The California Department of Water Resources is to conduct its first "media-oriented manual snow survey" of the 2017 water year today in the Sierra Nevada, with the state potentially headed for a sixth year of drought. A week ago, the snowpack held 10.5 inches of water content statewide, 72 percent of average, one month into the three wettest months of the year, according to electronic monitoring.

As two-thirds of marine species off the Northeast coast adjust their range due to rising ocean temperatures, fishermen are frustrated by outdated catch regulations, says The New York Times. “Lobster, once a staple in southern New England, have decamped to Maine. Black sea bass, scup, yellowtail flounder, mackerel, herring and monkfish, to name just a few species, have all moved to accommodate changing temperatures,” says the Times.