In North America, women more commonly are the farmer's wife than the farmer, notes Modern Farmer. In Canada, 27 percent of farm operators are women. In the United States, 14 percent of farms are headed by women.

On the fourth try, the Senate passed a bill to name the American bison as the national mammal, said the Grand Forks (ND) Herald, saying, "The bald eagle may soon have a companion as the animal epitome of the United States."

En route to approving the herbicide 2,4-D for use on new GMO strains of corn and soybeans, EPA scientists "changed their analysis of a pivotal rat study by Dow, tossing aside signs of kidney trouble that Dow researchers said were caused by 2,4-D," said an investigative report in the Chicago Tribune.

Sens Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Maria Cantwell of Washington state proposed revival and extension of the $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit through 2018. "This provision should be included in the tax extenders package under discussion," Grassley said in a joint statement with Cantwell.

From grow lights in greenhouses and massive diesel-powered farm tractors to the refrigerators in millions of American homes, the food system ranks as a major power user. "Up to a fifth of our nation’s total energy use goes into growing, transporting, processing and eventually preparing our food, but those energy inputs are often hidden," says the opening story of a series by Harvest Public Media and Inside Energy.

An analysis by the University of Sheffield in Britain calculates that "nearly 33% of the world’s adequate or high-quality food-producing land has been lost ... due to erosion or pollution in the past 40 years, with potentially disastrous consequences as global demand for food soars," said the Guardian.

The government lowered its forecast of U.S. farm exports by 5 percent from August. The $7 billion cut was due to "lower prices, strong competition and diminishing Chinese demand," said USDA in a quarterly report.

With the IMF lowering its forecast of global economic growth, there will be less demand for cotton and cotton stockpiles will remain large and prices stubbornly low, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee. In a monthly report, the intergovernmental body said cotton prices would average 70 cents a pound this marketing year, compared to 71 cents in the previous season.

The anti-obesity group Global Energy Balance Network "announced this week that it was shutting down after months of pressure from public health authorities who said that the group’s mission was to play down the link between soft drinks and obesity," said the New York Times.

The Energy Department said ethanol production fell by a record-matching 5.2 percent, to 956,000 barrels a day last week, a far larger decline than expected by traders, said Agrimoney.

The tree sap used in making maple syrup contains half as much sugar as it did in the 1950s and 1960s in the forests of New England, says National Geographic. "The sugar maple is stressed to the point of decline and many scientists studying this beloved tree believe rising temperatures are the cause."

Dow, a major ag chemical company, is selling part of its herbicide business to Gowan Co. amid continued talk of consolidation in the sector, says Agrimoney. "The deal will include the trademark for Treflan, an herbicide that is used on field corn, cotton, and some fruits and vegetables."

House and Senate leaders added a provision to a compromise transportation bill that would eliminate a $3 billion cut in crop insurance spending, making good on a promise to farm-state lawmakers.

In an editorial, the New York Times says, "Congress should overturn" the FDA decision against special labels on the genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon, the first GE food animal cleared for human consumption. "Consumers deserve to know what they are eating."

There are three times more cattle, hogs, sheep and chickens on earth than people, says Ensia, and with meat consumption on the rise around the world, the trend is toward mutton and chicken.