Water wars move east (Wall Street Journal): Water fights were once the purview of Western farming communities, but the issue is moving east as climate change and development threaten water resources in Florida and Georgia.
French fry shortage looms (Bloomberg): Harsh weather conditions have stunted potato crops, making for a possible french fry shortage in the United States and Canada.
High pay for dairy execs (Journal Sentinel): Former U.S. agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack made nearly $1 million in compensation in 2018 as head of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, records show.
Contract feeding transformed hog industry (Successful Farming): When large-scale contract feeding arrived in Iowa three decades ago, farmers were scrambling for ways to make money after the agricultural recession. Yet, hog farming was in the hands of independent family farmers who were leery of corporate ties.
Smallest Australia wheat crop since 2008 (Reuters): Unrelenting drought in eastern Australia will slash wheat the wheat crop, the country’s largest ag export, to 15.9 million tonnes, the smallest crop in 11 years, said government forecasters.
Soy done, corn harvest lags (USDA): Weeks later than usual, the soybean harvest is essentially complete but corn growers have 9 million acres to go, said the weekly Crop Progress report; wintry storms stalled fieldwork in the northwestern Corn Belt last week.