Mr. Trump’s suggestion that it is “impossible” for American farmers to sell their products to the European Union is wrong. In fact, the 28 countries of the European Union are the United States’ fifth-largest export market for agricultural goods, like tree nuts and soybeans, totaling $11.5 billion in 2017, according to the Department of Agriculture.But the United States did import about $10 billion more in agricultural products, like wine, beer and chocolate, from the European Union than it exported there. [node:read-more:link]

In June 2018, Canadian artist Douglas Bevans set up a booth at a popular street fair in Vancouver, Canada, to sell a hot dog suspended in a bottle of water for $29. evans sold Hot Dog Water using an array of claims. [node:read-more:link]

Governor Scott announced that more than $1.6 million has been awarded to support projects in rural communities across the state. This grant funding was provided through the Rural Infrastructure Fund to help with the planning, preparation and financing of infrastructure projects in rural communities. These projects will result in job creation, capital investment and the strengthening and diversification of Florida’s rural economies. During Gov. Scott’s time in office, every county has had a decrease in unemployment and every region in Florida has experienced job growth. [node:read-more:link]

Amanda Lacaze grabbed her iPhone and rattled off the names of the special minerals needed to make it. The screen was polished with lanthanum and cerium. The inside has a magnet made with neodymium and praseodymium.Those minerals almost certainly came from China. Ms. Lacaze’s job is to give the world an alternative source, in case a global trade war spirals out of control and China cuts off supply.Right now, she can’t. Her company, Lynas Corporation, can provide only a fraction of the minerals — known as rare earths — that China produces. [node:read-more:link]

The Gift & Thrift in Harrisonburg is one of more than one hundred thrift shops run by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Canada and the United States. Since 1972 they have raised more than $200 million to support domestic and international aid programs by the MCC. In addition to the thrift shop, the Harrisonburg complex of buildings hosts an artisan gift shop, a bookstore, a café, and a community center.To bring solar to the Gift & Thrift, the store and the MCC teamed up with local solar installer Secure Futures to create the “Thrifty Solar Barn Raising” team. [node:read-more:link]

When a company from Seattle came calling, wanting to lease some land on Jeff and Jackie Brunson’s 1,000-acre hay and oat farm for a solar energy project, they jumped at the idea, and the prospect of receiving regular rent checks. They did not anticipate the blowback — snarky texts, phone calls from neighbors, and county meetings where support for solar was scant.Critics said the project would remove too much land from agricultural production in central Washington. [node:read-more:link]

Virginia regulators have accused the builder of the Mountain Valley Pipeline of environmental violations punishable by fines and repair mandates, saying the company’s failure to install and maintain erosion-control devices has fouled 8,800 feet of streams in six locations.The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality gave Robert Cooper, project manager for EQT Corp. in Pittsburgh, a nine-page notice of violations on Monday. [node:read-more:link]

North Dakota's attorney general is suing the developer of the Dakota Access oil pipeline over agricultural land the company owns in violation of a state law banning large corporations from owning farmland. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem filed a civil complaint in state district court against Dakota Access LLC, a company formed by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners to build the $3.8 billion pipeline to move North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois. The pipeline began operating a year ago. [node:read-more:link]

Black farmers, whose numbers already have dwindled precipitously over the past century, face new hardships after suffering poor yields last year because they were sold "fake" soybean seeds marketed at a Memphis trade show, members of a group representing African-American growers said. Leaders of the Memphis-based Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association have filed a class-action lawsuit against Stine Seed Co., the nation's largest independent seed-producer, accusing the Adel, Iowa, firm of targeting African-Americans for sales of defective seeds. [node:read-more:link]

Research to determine if there are differences between urban and rural Pennsylvania youth in substance use, such as alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs, and violent behavior found little overall differences between urban and rural students. The only meaningful differences were in alcohol and illicit drug use among rural and urban 12th graders, where urban students showed higher use rates than rural students. Also, for tobacco use, rural students showed higher lifetime use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products than urban students. The research, conducted by Dr. [node:read-more:link]