quick hits

Drought spreads: Some 65 percent of Kansas, the No. 1 winter wheat state, is in moderate or severe drought, a 12-point increase in a week, with precipitation running 4 to 5 inches below normal in south-central and eastern Kansas. (Drought Monitor) Improved finances: Farm assets have grown far …

Water as rural voting issue: Democrats in Arizona hope to gain rural support by promising an adequate supply of drinking water for residents, many of whom fear that large farms are monopolizing the water supply to grow alfalfa. (New York Times) Primary challenge: Christian conservative and …

Farmers oppose fertilizer deal: Iowa farmers asked FTC chair Lina Khan to block the proposed $3.6 billion purchase by Koch Industries of Iowa Fertilizer Co., which was created as an independent supplier with the aid of $545 million in government incentives and tax benefits. (Des Moines …

$1 billion in food aid: The Biden administration will use $1 billion from a USDA reserve to buy, ship, and distribute U.S.-grown foods for emergency assistance to 18 nations in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. (USDA) BLM to offer conservation leases: A rule released Thursday by the Bureau of …

CHS to buy elevators: Farmer-owned CHS said it plans to buy eight grain elevators in Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota from grain processor Cargill with the goal of “efficiently connecting our owners to the global marketplace.” (CHS Inc.) Healthy food partnerships: The …

Far right courts farmers: Far-right politicians in Europe are making common cause with protesting farmers, hoping to broaden their appeal by promising an overhaul of EU agricultural policies. (Washington Post) ‘Don’t cut interest rates’: The Federal Reserve should be patient …

HPAI in South Dakota cattle: USDA scientists confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza in a dairy herd in South Dakota, the first time the virus has been detected in the state. Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas also have infected herds. (News.SD.gov) FRAC …

Food inflation stands still: The U.S. food inflation rate in March was 2.2 percent for the second month in a row, ending a string of monthly declines that began in August 2022, said the latest Consumer Price Index report. (Bureau of Labor Statistics) Senators reject GHG rule: The Senate passed, …

HPAI in 16 herds: An additional dairy herd in Texas is infected with highly infectious avian influenza, raising the U.S. total to 16 herds, half of them in the Lone Star state. (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) Hurdle for SAF from ethanol: Ethanol would qualify as a feedstock for …

Farmers favor Trump but …: In a Farm Futures reader survey, farmers overwhelmingly backed former president Donald Trump for another term in the White House, although a quarter of respondents said they were considering a third-party or write-in vote. (Farm Progress) No egg substitutes on …

Iowa bill shields Bayer: The Republican-controlled Iowa state Senate passed, 30-19, and sent to the House a bill that would shield Bayer from failure-to-warn lawsuits against its products as long as their labels complied with federal regulations. (Iowa Capital Dispatch) USDA offers $1.5 billion …

Easter egg fight: Conservative outlets accused President Biden of banning religious symbols from an egg decorating contest that is part of the annual Easter Egg roll, although the rules have not changed in 45 years, including the Trump era. (NBC News) Barriers to ag trade: U.S. food and ag …

Ag takes lion’s share of water: More than half of all Colorado River water — 52 percent — goes toward agriculture. And nearly two-thirds of that is used for crops fed to cattle, mostly alfalfa, which accounts for 27 percent of the river’s water. (Maven’s Notebook) Poland-Ukraine deal?: The two …

Climate-smart rice: Long-grain white rice and brown rice from Wisconsin’s Great River Milling are the first consumer products created under the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. (Wisconsin Public Radio) Standards for food as medicine: The Food is Medicine Coalition, an …

Bridge collapse shuts port: The Port of Baltimore, a significant shipping point for U.S. sugar imports, suspended traffic Tuesday after a container ship slammed into and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, shutting the main channel leading into the Chesapeake Bay. (Agri-Pulse) PFAS …

EU shelves climate program: A major European Union plan to fight climate change and better protect nature was indefinitely postponed Monday, underscoring how farmers’ protests sweeping the continent influence politics ahead of the June EU parliamentary elections. (Associated Press) Prop 12 …

Ag-cancer link in Iowa?: Oncologists and public health researchers say it’s time to look more closely at what role the agriculture industry plays in Iowa having the fastest-growing rate of new cancers in the nation and the second-highest cancer rate overall. (The Gazette) Onion ban: India has …

Disappearing water: Alfalfa crops and other agricultural activities are sapping the ancient Mexican oasis of Cuatro Cienegas, the most important wetland in the Chihuahuan Desert. (Reuters) Italy wants more farmers: A new law, designed to increase the number of young farmers in the country, …