Disaster designations: The USDA has declared 95 counties, mostly in drought-hit parts of the western Corn Belt and the central and northern Plains, as disaster areas, making farmers and ranchers eligible for USDA emergency loans. (Farm Service Agency)
KCS delays decision: Kansas City Southern, the key component in proposals to create the first railroad running from Canada to Mexico, delayed a vote on a $29 billion takeover bid by Canadian National Railway. (Reuters)
Earlier acreage update: The USDA may adjust acreage data for U.S. corn and soybean crops as part of the monthly crop report on Sept. 10, a month earlier than usual, because information about planted and harvested areas is “sufficiently complete this year.” (National Agricultural Statistics Service)
Increased protections: Under revisions to so-called whole farm crop insurance, organic farmers can expand their coverage levels more rapidly and the coverage limit for aquaculture has been quadrupled. (Risk Management Agency)
Water law struck down: Following a federal court decision striking down a Trump-era interpretation of clean water law, the regulation of U.S. waters is again governed by a 1986 rule that environmentalists, farmers, and developers say is poorly written and contradictory. (New York Times)