Harvest harassment on the West Bank (Washington Post): On the rocky hillsides of the West Bank, harvest time for Palestinian olive farmers “is when some of the most extreme [Israeli] settlers launch harassment campaigns.”
Lots of sugar for youngsters (New York Times): Government researchers say 98 percent of toddlers and two-thirds of infants consume added sugar — sweeteners added during processing or food preparation —- despite recommendations to avoid it.
Let 15 billion gallons be 15 billion (Thune): Six Republican senators asked President Trump in a letter “to take the corrective action necessary” so the EPA fully accounts for the impact on ethanol producers when it exempts small oil refineries from the RFS target of blending 15 billion gallons of ethanol into gasoline annually.
Storms hit Canadian canola (Reuters): Farmers may retreat from planting canola in 2020, given the storms that have buried several million acres of the crop in the prairie provinces and a dispute that has reduced sales to China.
It’s hard to idle farmland (farmdoc Daily): Since the Great Depression, the government has tried to shut down tillage of unsuitable land, but it’s a difficult chore that takes years and significant expenditures for what may be temporary success.