Japanese trading house Marubeni announced today it will acquire Creekstone Farms from private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners. Terms were not disclosed in either of the parties’ news releases, although Japanese news outlet Nikkei Asian Review reported the deal is worth about $170 million.The move gives Marubeni, which already owns Australian beef interest Rangers Valley, a foothold in two of the world’s largest beef-producing and exporting countries and follows China’s recent announcement that it would lift a ban on beef from the United States. [node:read-more:link]

Senate Appropriations ranking member Patrick Leahy secured provisions in the fiscal 2018 agriculture spending bill aimed at encouraging more dairy farmers to sign up for an insurance program and to select greater levels of coverage under it. The provisions are part of an agreement brokered with Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran that helps both dairy and cotton farmers, who are struggling financially amid a sustained period of depressed prices. [node:read-more:link]

Last year, a little more than 2 million gallons of milk from the region including Wisconsin and Minnesota were dumped, according to data from the Federal Milk Marketing Order. That’s enough to fill three Olympic-size swimming pools. But, the amount of milk dumped each year is small compared to total production. Last year, Wisconsin cows produced more than 3 billion gallons of milk, second only to California. So what actually happens to the milk that's dumped? [node:read-more:link]

ani Hari, the infamous "Food Babe" who says that we shouldn't eat anything that we can't pronounce, has a new emulator: Panera Bread. It pains me to write this article because I love Panera Bread. They know me by my name at the restaurant at which I typically eat. However, their management and marketing team have decided that mocking science is the best way to sell food, and this loyal customer is going to fight back.A few years ago, Panera launched a "clean food" campaign. That sounds innocent, but the implication is clear: Our food is clean, and their food is dirty. [node:read-more:link]

A Missouri woman died June 23 after contracting a rare tick-borne illness called Bourbon virus. Tamela Wilson, 58, was the first person to test positive for the virus in Missouri, and is only the fifth confirmed case since it was identified in 2014, CBS reported. Wilson, who worked as a superintendent at Meramec State Park in Missouri, fell in ill shortly after she pulled two ticks off her body in May. CBS reported that Wilson's doctor initially diagnosed her with a urinary tract infection and prescribed her antibiotics, but her condition continued to deteriorate.  [node:read-more:link]

Katz and Todd Davis, principal investigator on the CDC team that studies flu viruses that infect other mammals and birds, told STAT in a recent interview that this year’s surge in H7N9 case numbers is likely due to the fact that the virus is infecting poultry in more parts of the country. More infected birds equals more exposed people.Swayne’s research, which hasn’t yet been published, points to how that happens. [node:read-more:link]

Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn on Thursday issued a notice of release from the statewide stop sale, use or removal order for Engenia, XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology and FeXapan Herbicide Plus VaporGrip Technology. New rules put additional rules and regulations on who can spray the products and the hours of day they can be sprayed. The move follows similar rules announced for use of dicamba products in Tennessee. [node:read-more:link]

Alliantgroup, a leading tax consultancy in the area of government-sponsored credits and incentives, is proud to announce the addition of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns as the firm’s new Chairman of Agriculture. A former Governor and U.S. Senator representing the state of Nebraska, Johanns brings more than 30 years of experience at virtually every level of government and a strong background in both agriculture and economic development. [node:read-more:link]

Unions in sparsely organized North Carolina are unhappy with Democratic Gov. [node:read-more:link]

In June, 2016, I described a Clean Water Act (CWA) case involving a California wheat farmer. A U.S. District Court found John Duarte chisel plowed pasture lands which were considered to be vernal pools even though the pools seldom have water in them. The Court determined his vernal pools were wetlands or waters of the United States. See where this is going? After a year-long delay, the penalty phase of the case against Duarte starts on August 14th. For chisel plowing alleged wetlands, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. [node:read-more:link]