There's plenty of speculation out there about why Millennials aren’t buying homes, investing in the stock market or even buying diamonds. But a new report found that Millennials spend significantly more on necessities like groceries and gas than older generations.On average, people between the ages of 18 and 36 spend $2,300 more per year on groceries, gas, restaurants, and cellphone bills than those who are 37 and older, according to a study from Bankrate.com.On the other hand, Millennials spend $1,130 less on travel and television than their elders. [node:read-more:link]

Canada’s federal and provincial governments are partnering to provide nearly $5 million to help five local food processors expand capacity and improve efficiency so they can grow their businesses. The agri-food processors in Calgary receiving federal-provincial support include two meat processors. [node:read-more:link]

A longtime Arkansas soybean farmer, Mike Wallace thought of his neighbors as a community and always was willing to lend a hand if they faced any hardships with their crops. “Mike would do anything for any farmer,” his wife, Karen, said. “If there was a farmer who got sick in harvest time or planting time or whatever, he would say, ‘What can I do to help? Here’s my equipment. Here’s my guys. Let’s go do it.”’But across much of farm country, a dispute over a common weed killer is turning neighbor against neighbor. [node:read-more:link]

We’ve been reading up on climate change and how it might affect agriculture and food processing. First, you should be happy to know that Iowa State University and its associated labs have taken the lead in research and reporting. Deserving special note are Drs. Gene Takle, Jerry Hatfield and Rick Cruse, who have contributed substantially to the national discussion; Takle shared in a Nobel Prize for his work on climate modeling. These are top-flight scientists, agronomists and climatologists who have issued sober analysis about climate impacts. [node:read-more:link]

According to a new U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded study, lack of access to affordable health insurance is one of the most significant concerns facing American farmers, an overlooked risk factor that affects their ability to run a successful enterprise.   Three of four farmers and ranchers (73 percent) in the survey said that having affordable health insurance was an important or very important means of reducing their business risk. [node:read-more:link]

 President Donald Trump has nominated Stephen Censky, chief executive officer of the American Soybean Association, to be deputy secretary of Agriculture. The announcement came late Thursday. Censky has been CEO of the soybean association in St. Louis, Mo., since 1996.Ag lobbyists and others had anticipated Censky was a frontrunner for the deputy position, a role that largely oversees the day-to-day operations at USDA, a department with a budget of roughly $155 billion and staff of 97,800 employees. [node:read-more:link]

New proposals for biofuel requirements in 2019 have ethanol folks in Nebraska and Iowa asking what the regulators in Washington are thinking. This month the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released proposed requirements for biofuels in coming years, an annual figure known as the Renewable Fuel Standard. The proposal would allow for 15 billion gallons of conventional corn-based ethanol — unchanged from the previous standard — to be blended into the nation’s fuel supply and dispersed at neighborhood gas pumps as a clear gas/ethanol blend. [node:read-more:link]

The Washington State Department of Agriculture has recommended a dairy build a berm to keep manure from washing off the farm again. The Washington State Department of Agriculture has ended its investigation into the release of fecal coliform-laced water that flooded a Yakima County community last winter, recommending that a dairy block off a manure compost pile or move it to higher ground. [node:read-more:link]

Urea and other forms of nitrogen fertilizer are hitting the lowest price levels seen in more than a decade. Urea is selling for roughly $170 per short ton along the Gulf of Mexico wholesale market, which is the cheapest it’s been for roughly 15 years, said Glen Buckley, chief economist with the Fertilizer Advisory Service. [node:read-more:link]

Two years ago, Republicans in the state Senate tried to prevent the state from issuing more bonds to build roads, declaring they were dead set against relying on borrowing for highways.  That attitude is in the past. Now, they're eager to break out the state's credit card to pay for highways as they try to end a budget stalemate."We're not going to kick the can down the road," Sen. [node:read-more:link]