Ag shifts vital to slow climate change, says report (Guardian): A leaked draft of a report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that keeping global temperatures at a safe level will require a transformation of how we grow and eat food, including reducing meat consumption.
Farm production expenses down 1 percent (USDA): Farmers cut their production expenses by nearly $4 billion in 2018, with crop farmers making bigger cuts than livestock producers and the Midwest making the largest reductions of any region.
World food prices decline slightly (FAO): The Food Price Index, based on a basket of food commodities, fell by 1 percent in July to its lowest level since April, largely because of reduced prices for cereal grains, dairy products, and sugar.
Drought possible in Upper Midwest (NOAA): With forecasts of subnormal rainfall in August, the monthly U.S. Drought Outlook says drought development is anticipated in the eastern Corn Belt, the Upper Great Lakes region, and the southern Plains.
Cities overtake rural America in drug deaths (AP): Death rates from drug overdoses are rising in rural and urban America, but the urban rate has shot up dramatically, to 22 per 100,000 compared with 20 per 100,000 for the rural rate.