Like most independent seed sellers in the U.S., Sonny Beck sells Xtend soybean seed, designed to be tolerant of over-the-top dicamba applications. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. District Judge David Norton ruled the Trump administration Executive Order did not properly seek public input when it suspended the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) RuleThis ruling in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina impacts 26 states, with reviews pending in an additional 24 states. [node:read-more:link]

Despite Republican efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act, insurance premiums will go up only slightly in most states where carriers have submitted proposed prices for next year. And insurance carriers are entering markets rather than fleeing them. [node:read-more:link]

As legal cannabis farms take the spotlight, safer methods of pest control are also taking root in more 'mainstream' agriculture. With more states enacting medicinal and adult recreational cannabis laws each year, health officials have increasingly warned about the potential hazards of products made from crops treated with certain chemicals. In particular, chemical pesticides have been identified as a threat to cannabis consumers' health, with potential risks that can vary depending on whether products are eaten, smoked, vaped, or topically applied. [node:read-more:link]

The Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) has asked Canada’s agriculture minister in a letter to extend the 2018 Livestock Deferral Tax credit because of drought conditions. [node:read-more:link]

A new analysis of New England’s shrimp population doesn’t bode well for the future of the long-shuttered fishery for the crustaceans. The Maine-based shrimp fishery has been shut down since 2013 because of concerns such as warming ocean temperatures and poor survival of young. Scientists working with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission are assessing the shrimp stock, and so far it looks like little has changed. [node:read-more:link]

Changes are coming in the way farmers grow, pack, hold and distribute ready-to-eat produce, and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) can help by performing a free, on-farm readiness review. Farmers who sell more than $25,000 in applicable produce per year may be subject to the new federal legislation. Regulatory inspections are expected to begin in mid-2019, but farmers can find out now if they are ready for the changes, with time to make any necessary adjustments. [node:read-more:link]

The United States’ total federal investment in agricultural research has been flat for a long time, a fact that does not bode well for the future of our farm and food system. Not only does the research undertaken today have a profound impact on the what food and agriculture will be like a generation from now, but our chances of successfully tackling major societal challenges related to our current system are being seriously impeded by the lack of sufficient investment. [node:read-more:link]