Visa paperwork snarls delay of seasonal farmworkers, threatening harvests
Farmers reported labor shortages in more than 20 states, threatening harvests, due to delays in federal approval for seasonal workers from foreign countries, said the largest U.S. farm group.
DuPont announces its first CRISPR-created crop, waxy corn
The second-largest seed company in the world, DuPont Pioneer, announced development of a new strain of waxy corn using CRISPR-Cas gene-editing technology.
Seeds banks around the world struggle for funding
“Once seeds are secured in gene banks, it is a never-ending — and expensive— job to keep them viable,” writes Virginia Gewin at Yale Environment 360.
Soda tax in Philly? “I’m very supportive,” says Clinton
Campaigning ahead of Tuesday's primary election in Pennsylvania, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton said "I'm very supportive" of the 3-cent-an-ounce soda tax proposed by Mayor Jim Kenney, reported CNN.
Republican draft bill would cut school meal eligibility
Despite criticism of the idea, the Republican-drawn child nutrition bill filed in the House would curtail sharply the use of a provision that eases the paperwork burden on schools in low-income neighborhoods that provide free meals to all of their students.
Senate rejects anti-WOTUS rider
On a nearly party-line vote, the Senate defeated a proposal by North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven to prevent EPA from carrying out its Waters of the United States (WOTUS).
The season of farewells on Capitol Hill
The general election is more than six months away and the new administration won't take office for nine months but the farewells are being heard already on Capitol Hill.
Canadian farmers plant lentils and dry peas with an eye on India
Farmers in Canada intend to plant a record amount of land to lentils and dry peas, a combined 9.4 million acres this year, "betting that strong demand from drought-stricken India will soften the blow of low prices for wheat, corn and other field crops," said the Toronto Globe and Mail.
Large and rising costs make crop insurance a budget target
The pricetag for the federally subsidized crop insurance program more than doubled in a decade, blossoming to a $8.6 billion line item in 2014, writes Ohio State economist Carl Zulauf in a blog titled, "Why crop insurance has become an issue."
Fewer migrant farmworkers follow the crops, pointing to labor shortages
Since the turn of the century, far fewer farmhands are going on the road. A Ball State University study found that 20 percent of farmworkers performed migratory labor in 2009, dramatically lower than the 53 percent of 1998.
White House threatens veto of WOTUS rider
As the Senate opened debate on the energy and water funding bill, the White House warned against using the bill as a vehicle to stop the EPA's Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation.
NRCS trains farmers to protect the microbes in their soil
The Natural Resources Conservation Service is on a nationwide mission to train farmers to protect the microorganisms in soil—and their relationship to crops— instead of destroying them with fertilizer and chemical sprays, says an Orion Magazine story produced with the Food and Environment Reporting Network.
Clinton won the New York primary, but not rural New York
Eight years ago, Hillary Clinton won two-thirds of the rural vote in the New York primary. This time, she lost the state's rural and small-city vote by 20 points, says the Daily Yonder.
Monsanto, looking beyond traditional GMOs
Robb Fraley, chief technology officer for Monsanto, said in an interview that the world's largest seed company spends half of its research budget on classical plant breeding, speeded-up by genomic tools, writes Tom Philpott in Mother Jones.
House panel votes to block USDA rules on healthier foods
In February, the USDA proposed that retailers should stock a wider variety of staple foods if they want to be part of the food-stamp program. The House Appropriations Committee has sided with the critics, voting to prohibit the USDA from implementing the new standards.
Like U.S., EU has few young farmers, many elders
Only 6 percent of farm managers in Europe are under the age of 35, but 31 percent are 65 or older, says the news site EurActiv in a series of infographics.
World must produce 70 percent more food by 2050 if we don’t cut ‘food gap’
The world is facing a 70-percent “crop gap” between the calories available in 2006 and the expected caloric demand in 2050, says a report out by the World Resources Institute (WRI).
Cornucopia Institute sues USDA, claiming corporate takeover of organic board
The Cornucopia Institute—an organic watchdog group—has filed a lawsuit against the USDA, claiming that the agency stacked the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) with agribusiness representatives, instead of farmers.
Colombia says it will resume spraying coca plants with glyphosate
Colombia will once again use glyphosate to kill coca plants, after banning the practice for the last year due to carcinogenic concerns, reports The Tampa Bay Tribune.
Very low levels of glyphosate found in breakfast foods
The Alliance for Natural Health said it found low levels of glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world, in 10 of 24 samples of popular breakfast foods, ranging from oatmeal and eggs to bagels and non-GMO soy creamer.