Gateway to farming (WESA-FM): The popularity of organic food and environmentally sustainable farming has helped make agriculture accessible to younger farmers facing high startup costs. There are currently six farmers older than 65 for each farmer younger than 35.
Give CRISPR a chance (Vox): Few things in agriculture are as divisive as gene editing, yet a National Academy of Sciences report lists it among five scientific tools that could improve agricultural performance.
Tariff tide in Iowa? (Daily Beast): Democrats are putting farmers on the ballot in several legislative races in Iowa, including Rita Hart for lieutenant governor, and they are talking more and more about trade policy in hopes of winning rural votes.
Branstad feeling trade heat (Wall Street Journal): When former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad was named U.S. ambassador to China, he was welcomed by a longtime friend, President Xi Jinping. Now Branstad spends his days defending the policies of China’s greatest trade adversary.
Europe’s barley crop battered (Reuters): While drought has inflicted serious damage on the barley crop in Northern Europe, France’s production of the grain, which is used in livestock feed and to brew beer, may be relatively unscathed.
Small soybean payments (farmdoc Daily): Soybean futures took a tumble in late May, but soybean prices will not be low enough to generate large insurance payments unless yields are below average.