U.S. corn output to plunge 10 percent (FAO): “Due to prolonged excessive wet conditions resulting in major delays in crop planting,” U.S. corn production is forecast at 330 million tonnes this year, 10 percent smaller than the 2018 crop instead of the 2.5 percent increase that was forecast a month ago, said the Cereal Supply and Demand Brief.
Bee colony losses decline (Science Daily): Beekeepers in 36 countries, mostly Europe, reported a loss of 16 percent of colonies during the 2017/18 winter, compared to 21 percent in 2016/17 and 12 percent in 2015/16, according to a study led by the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.
Chicken producers squeezed (ProPublica): Poultry producers who believed the Obama administration was slow to help them get a fair shake from mammoth processors now say they are in a worse position, coping with a regulatory rollback and less enforcement of fair-play rules.
EPA, CAFO pollution and a lawsuit (The Hill): Earthjustice says it will sue EPA over a rule that removes requirements for large livestock farms to report air pollution emitted by animal waste.
Hot spots for phosphorus recycling (Ensia): Countries could become less dependent on imported phosphorus fertilizer by identifying “hot spots” for recycling the nutrient from manure, uneaten food or human waste, say researchers who found such hot spots in every inhabited continent.