Battling ‘murder hornets’: Washington agriculture officials destroyed an Asian giant hornet nest — the first of the year — in a dead alder tree, capturing 180 hornets and removing the section of the tree containing the nest for further study. (Washington Department of Agriculture)
Warning on neonics: Draft evaluations by the EPA say that three widely used neonicotinoid insecticides are “likely to adversely affect” thousands of endangered species and their habitats, raising the possibility of changing guidelines for the pesticides’ use. (DTN/Progressive Farmer)
Canadian crops suffer: Canada’s canola harvest, usually the largest in the world, will fall by 20 percent from last year’s total and its wheat harvest will plunge by 43 percent due to punishing drought in much of the country. (Bloomberg)
Drought pummels ranchers: Throughout the West, drought is forcing ranchers to liquidate cattle herds, “often at fire-sale prices,” because they are running out of pasture and forage for the animals. (New York Times)
‘Stress test’ for crop income: There may be more risk in growing corn than soybeans in 2022, say four university economists who ran three scenarios assessing the impact of lower-than-projected market prices for corn and soybeans on midwestern farms. (Farmdoc Daily)