But in recent years, Ohio’s migrant work force has dwindled, with dire consequences for small to midsize growers, like Johnston. After more than 70 years’ worth of strawberries, the farm — which Mr. Mora now runs with his wife, Martha — has canceled its signature crop for lack of labor. “Thirty years ago, there used to be migrant workers everywhere,” said Mr. Mora, who became a co-owner when he married into the family. “Now, it’s like this.” Mr. [node:read-more:link]

Ag suicides are the greatest unreported tragedy of its kind in America and around the world. If veteran suicide in America is epidemic, ag suicide is pandemic. Here's the hard data: Suicides among a group labeled Farming/Fishing/Forestry totaled 84.5 per hundred thousand. Far behind in second place was Construction/Extraction at 53.3 per hundred thousand. A few weeks ago, Washington state legislators unanimously passed House Bill 2671 which establishes a pilot program for free suicide prevention for employees of the agriculture industry. [node:read-more:link]

The Oregon Department of Agriculture and Department of Environmental Quality have revoked the waste management permit for Lost Valley Farm. The revocation comes just 15 months after the facility first received its permit from the Oregon Department of Agriculture and Department of Environmental Quality, which jointly manage the state’s confined animal feeding operation, or CAFO, program. Lost Valley now has 60 days to shut down, move all its animals and clean all waste systems. [node:read-more:link]

The American Soybean Association, the U.S. Soybean Export Council and the United Soybean Board express concern over pricing of soybeans which relies heavily on exports. According to the June USDA-WASDE it was projected that 48 percent of the 2018 total U.S. supply of soybeans (4,810 million bushels) will be exported, amounting to 2,290 million bushels. China represented 44% of U.S. exports in 2017 attaining 1,000 million bushels. This quantity supplied 28 percent of soybean imports into China valued at $14 billion. In comparison Brazil supplied 51 percent of imports into China. [node:read-more:link]

The European Union started enforcing tariffs Friday on American imports like bourbon, peanut butter and orange juice, part of a growing global trade rift that’s likely to intensify over the next few weeks. The EU tariffs on $3.4 billion worth of U.S. products are in retaliation for duties the Trump administration has imposed on European steel and aluminum. [node:read-more:link]

Wisconsin cheese makers have found themselves caught in the middle of an escalating trade war. Some local companies that export are preparing to take a major hit as countries retaliate President Trump's newly imposed tariff on steel and aluminum.  [node:read-more:link]

Chinese customers are holding back on some orders of alfalfa from Washington’s Columbia Basin as they wait to see what happens with tariffs, a major U.S. hay exporter says. [node:read-more:link]

Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.6 million head on June 1, a 4 percent increase from the year-earlier figure and the highest June  inventory since the series began in 1996. Right about in line with analysts’ expectations, the latest June tally marked the 18th straight month of year-on-year increases. Feedlot inventories. [node:read-more:link]

The White House released a proposal on June 21 that would shift all food safety functions to the US Dept. of Agriculture while moving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to a new Bureau of Economic Growth within the Dept. of Commerce. Merging the Depts. of Education and Labor into a single also was among the proposed reforms. [node:read-more:link]

Turkey Hill Dairy’s milk products are known around the world. Now, the Lancaster-based company is taking an unprecedented step to make sure its milk and ice cream aren’t made at the expense of the environment. As part of new contracts with its dairy producers, about 100 farmers located within 50 miles of the plant will be required, for the first time, to have conservation plans in place to make sure they are not sending soil and manure into local streams and the Chesapeake Bay. [node:read-more:link]