Climate change strains dams (The New York Times): Along the Missouri River, one dam manager had to choose between flooding downstream towns and farms and risking the safety of the dams themselves. His grim choices reveal an outmoded dam system facing fresh challenges from climate change.
Loyalty to Roundup persists (Wall Street Journal): Farmers continue to stand by the weedkiller Roundup despite a second jury ruling this week linking the herbicide to cancer.
Trump wants China to buy lots more (CNBC): As two senior U.S. officials prepare for high-level trade talks, President Trump is pushing to have China double or triple its offer to buy $1.2 trillion worth of U.S. energy, agriculture, and aircraft products over six years.
Beer battle brewing over corn syrup (The Hill): Beer maker MillerCoors sued rival Anheuser-Busch over TV ads that claim MillerCoors uses corn syrup in its products. MillerCoors says the ads are deceptive.
When stewardship practices are dropped (USDA): An examination of “dropped practices” in the cost-sharing Environmental Quality Incentives Program found that growers were most likely to abandon low-benefit practices. The study also found that 60 percent of dropped practices were on farms that had completed another project as part of the EQIP contract.
No slam dunk with industrial hemp (Modern Farmer): Hemp grows in tall, dense stands and can outcompete weeds, but it may need irrigation in its early weeks and may not produce as much income as expected. Also, there is a limited supply of much of what’s needed to produce hemp, from seed to harvest equipment and processors.