Rodriguez to retire after 25 years at UFW (UFW): The United Farm Workers said that longtime president Arturo Rodriguez will retire on Dec. 20. He will be replaced by the group’s chief administrator, Teresa Romero, who will become the first Latina and first immigrant woman to lead a national union.
Voluntary conservation not enough (Sandusky Register): The Lake Erie Charter Boat Association strongly supports Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s order for new regulations on farmers in eight watersheds to reduce nutrient runoff that causes algal blooms in the lake. Separately, Ohio State University researchers said that walleye, a prized game fish, struggle to see in water clouded by algae.
Increasingly, the landlord is a woman (Civil Eats): Women now own half of U.S. farmland that is rented to tenants, and with their longer lifespan, their share of ownership will rise as other family members die.
Canada will defend supply management (AFP): Canada will not give in to U.S. demands to dismantle its supply management system for dairy or to vastly expand U.S. dairy imports, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as NAFTA talks near a potential conclusion.
Vast parts of Brazil converted to farms (Reuters): Encouraged by low prices and permissive policies, farmers have cleared an area larger than South Korea in the Brazilian cerrado in a decade. Environmentalists are beginning to tally the impact on wildlife, waterways, and the climate.
Moving USDA agency is illogical (The Hill): Susan Offutt, a former administrator of the Economic Research Service, says the agency “should stay in the Washington area with its primary customers,” who include lawmakers and the executive branch, rather than being moved hundreds of miles away, as Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has recommended.
Olympian joins Farm Foundation board (Farm Foundation): Jackie Joyner-Kersee, an Olympic gold medalist turned philanthropist, was elected to the board of the Farm Foundation along with Robert Jones, chancellor of the University of Illinois; Andy LaVigne, president of the American Seed Trade Association; and Dan Basse, president of commodity analyst AgResource Co.