The United States has dropped a contentious demand from the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement to impose restrictions on Mexican agricultural exports, Mexico’s top farm lobby said.A divisive issue has been a proposal by the Trump administration to put seasonal curbs on some agricultural exports to the United States. But a senior executive at Mexico’s National Agricultural Council (CNA) said that had been dropped.Andrade said the move followed a lobbying effort that sought to show that the “seasonality” demand stood to benefit a small fraction of U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Egg producers need to remember that regulatory compliance is just the first step for a food safety program that pursues continuous improvement. Walmart executive says chicken producers are in a race between their companies’ ability to prevent foodborne illnesses and society’s ability to detect them. Big data tools are making it easier to detect consumer trends. Data from credit/debit card purchases and shopper loyalty programs provide a more accurate history of what consumers really purchased and where they were purchased. [node:read-more:link]

The resignation of Lyle Stewart as minister of agriculture triggered a mini-cabinet shuffle for Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. Wood River MLA and farmer Dave Marit will be assuming the job Stewart held for six years. [node:read-more:link]

USDA announced plans to purchase up to $60 million in chicken products and an unspecified amount of beef for distribution to various food nutrition assistance programs. [node:read-more:link]

A previously unaddressed provision of Illinois’ animal care law has caused police officers to hesitate before taking steps to rescue suffering dogs or cats, but a bill signed into law last week should change that, experts say. The bill, which took effect Aug. [node:read-more:link]

In the wild, these fire whirls are unpredictable and dangerous. An exceptionally powerful whirl in late July during California’s unrelenting Carr Fire whipped winds up to 143 miles per hour, roaring and spinning for 90 minutes and scooping up ash, debris and flames. It uprooted trees, stripped the bark off them, and downed power lines. The whirl, sometimes nicknamed a “firenado,” was so large it was picked up on Doppler radar. At the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, Dr. [node:read-more:link]

Last Thursday a federal court took an extraordinary step by ordering EPA to revoke all tolerances and cancel all registrations for chlorpyrifos. This is to be done within 60 days. This happened, despite the fact that USDA says it is a mistake to conclude chlorpyrifos is unsafe.EPA argued that administrative process deprived the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals of jurisdiction. The court basically said nonsense to EPA. [node:read-more:link]

Citing "significant interest from stakeholders," the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) approved a request from the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) and American Grassfed Association (AGA) to extend the public comment period for the groups' petition to stop imported meat from being mislabeled "Product of U.S.A." The new deadline for comments is Sept. 17, 2018. [node:read-more:link]

The Trump administration proposed replacing a signature Obama-era policy to combat climate change with a weaker plan that would let states write their own rules on coal-fired power plants, prompting critics to warn of dire environmental and health consequences. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal would require states to submit plans for improving efficiency of coal-fired power plants. [node:read-more:link]

Sometimes the best books are not on the bestseller’s list. Often a great read is one that you stumble upon much later than its original release date. Pat Willard’s America Eats! On the Road with the WPA — the Fish Fries, Box Supper Socials, and Chittlin' Feasts That Define Real American Food is one of those unique books. Willard, whose culinary writing has been nominated for awards, discovered long-forgotten manuscripts written during the Great Depression hidden in the archives of the Library of Congress. [node:read-more:link]