In Washington, the U.S. Department of Energy, through the Bioenergy Technologies Office, announced the selection of three projects to receive up to $8 million, aimed at reducing the costs of producing algal biofuels and bioproducts. These projects will deliver high-impact tools and techniques for increasing the productivity of algae organisms and cultures. They will also deliver biology-focused breakthroughs while enabling accelerated future innovations through data sharing within the research and development community. [node:read-more:link]

A Chinese fund part-owned by congolomerate CITIC Ltd has paid $1.1 billion for some of Dow Chemical Co's corn seed business in Brazil, in a further sign of China's fast-expanding role in the global seed sector.  The deal includes seed processing plants and seed research centers, a copy of Dow AgroSciences' Brazilian corn germplasm bank, the Morgan seed brand and a license for the use of the Dow Sementes brand for a certain period of time [node:read-more:link]

Last week, drone industry executives told President Trump they needed more regulation, not less, before they could expand further — a man-bites-dog story if ever there was one. But the answer isn’t to keep waiting on Washington. It’s to make use of one of our nation’s founding principles: federalism. For now, the drone industry is grounded because the Federal Aviation Agency hasn’t written guidelines for drones that fly beyond the operator’s line of sight. Rules are also absent for drone flights at night. [node:read-more:link]

The Land of Lincoln drama over operating for over two years without a budget ended on July 6, with legislative approval over a gubernatorial veto. Among the many programs threatened in Illinois were the solar programs in the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA, also known as SB 2814), which was signed into law last December and technically took effect on June 1.  While the funding under FEJA was immune from being raided or “swept” for general revenue purposes (a popular Illinois political pastime), funding critical to the start up of FEJA programs, such as Illinois Solar For All, was not. [node:read-more:link]

A Pennsylvania grain and produce farmer is suing the federal government for $8.1 million in damages and lost crop revenue that he says is the result of flooding caused by the government’s drainage management decisions. Robert Brace, 78, of Erie County, is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He argues that decisions made by those entities cost him more than $8 million that he would have realized from growing the most profitable combination of either cabbages, potatoes or onions. [node:read-more:link]

The new head of the FCC is interested in undoing rules that protect free speech, fairness, and privacy on the internet. Digital rights advocate Karen Fasimpaur asks for your help in stopping this rollback. [node:read-more:link]

Veterinarians are seeing the aftershocks of the opioid epidemic as pets and police dogs have to be revived with opioid antidote. [node:read-more:link]

A proposal to ban the planting of soybeans in parts of Idaho where dry beans are grown has been nixed by the governor’s office. The Idaho-Eastern Oregon Seed Association and Idaho Bean Commission proposed a rule that would prohibit soybeans from being grown in southcentral and southwestern Idaho, where the state’s dry bean industry is located.Those groups say soybeans have the potential to bring in diseases that could significantly harm the state’s $70 million dry bean industry. [node:read-more:link]

Washington’s oversight of dairies could be toughened by stiffer penalties and more control over manure exported to other farms, according to a new Washington State Department of Agriculture report. [node:read-more:link]

It is a known fact that microbes on farms protect children from asthma and allergies. But even non-microbial molecules can have a protective effect. Immunologists have shown that a sialic acid found in farm animals is effective against inflammation of lung tissue. This study opens up a wide variety of perspectives for the prevention of allergies. [node:read-more:link]