Today’s quick hits, July 31, 2019

Hungry, hungry caterpillars (Harvest Public Media): Some farmers are dealing with a pest problem this season in the form of thistle caterpillars, which under the right conditions, can produce two generations within one crop season.

Another hit for Bayer (Reuters): Bayer has canceled plans to roll out a worm-fighting chemical in the U.S. after a small number of users developed skin irritation after using the product.

‘Prairie Generation’ comes home (Christian Science Monitor): A new generation of rural entrepreneurs, young men and women who return home in their 20s could, with business and social media savvy, end the population decline of the Great Plains.

African smoke fertilizes Amazon forest (University of Miami): Smoke from fires in Africa, carried by wind across the Atlantic Ocean, may be the most important source of the key nutrient phosphorus that acts as a fertilizer in the rainforest of the Amazon.

From toxic algae to jet fuel (WPEC-TV): Research at Lake Okeechobee demonstrates that toxic blue-green algae can be converted into a biofuel version of jet fuel.