Consider the best cheese in the world. It's safe to assume you're thinking of something creamy and tough to pronounce from France. A slab hailing from Wisconsin would probably be a lot further down the list. But that is exactly where the Roth Grand Cru Surchoix, recently named one of the world’s best cheeses, is from.  At the 2016 World Cheese Championships, the Alpine-style cheese was named Best in Show. This marked the first time a cheese from the US had won the prize since 1988. The judges scored it 98.8 out of 100, and described the Gruyere-like offering as “perfect”. [node:read-more:link]

By 2040, the number of electric cars in the world could reach 150 million, or even, if more ambitious targets for emissions reductions are adopted, 715 million. Not only would this mean a drastic reduction in the demand for oil, it could also mean a drastic reduction in the demand for biofuels such as ethanol. But the biofuel industry is not giving up without a fight. [node:read-more:link]

At a time when Iowa farmers produced a second consecutive record corn crop amid falling prices for their commodity, the state’s growing ethanol industry remains a stabilizing factor. National crop production reports released in mid-December showed Iowa corn production in 2016 at 2.69 billion bushels, up from 2.51 billion bushels in 2015. [node:read-more:link]

Low commodity prices in late 2016 put downward pressure on farm income, farmland values and credit conditions such as repayment rates for farm loans. Exports may have helped give a boost to some agricultural commodity prices over the summer, but it only tempered the headwinds facing the U.S. agriculture industry, according to the latest ag outlook report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Mo. [node:read-more:link]

Illinois public schools and licensed daycare facilities will be required to test drinking water for lead contamination under a major compromise reached by key stakeholders.  Long-running negotiations among environmental groups, lawmakers, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and the governor’s office culminated in a compromise late last week, according to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office and the Illinois Environmental Council. [node:read-more:link]

Diners waste far less food when they understand the implications of their actions, but a new study found that if they know the food is going to be composted instead of dumped in a landfill, they aren’t as concerned. When composting enters the picture, educated diners waste just as much as those who haven’t learned about the consequences of food waste. [node:read-more:link]

A Saudi entrepreneur who runs a California-based raw milk network that stretches across the United States is on notice from the FDA to stop making illegal claims about the therapeutic benefits of unpasteurized milk, including raw camel milk. In a warning letter dated Sept. [node:read-more:link]

The Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP) has surpassed 300 certified farms, marking a year of strong growth with a milestone. This voluntary program works with farmers and landowners to identify and mitigate risks to water quality on a field by field basis. The Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program has certified 306 farms representing virtually every kind of agricultural production from all across the state.  The 306 farms certified by the MAWQCP represent over 175,000 acres of working lands. [node:read-more:link]

For the first time in more than three decades, New World screwworm has been found on Florida’s mainland. A stray dog was found in Homestead with the flesh-eating parasite last week and the worms in its body were confirmed as screwworm. The dog has been treated and is in good health. It wasn’t known if someone from the Keys abandoned the dog or if it got infested in another way.

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Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks reported Monday that a hunter-harvested mallard duck in Fergus County has tested positive for the H5N2 Avian influenza virus. This is the first recurrence of the highly contagious “bird flu” disease since 2015, when close to 50 million chickens and turkeys in the U.S. either died or were put down in response to the outbreak.  “The mallard duck appears to have a similar strain as the 2014/2015 outbreak that affected domestic birds nationwide,” the MFWP news release states. “Testing of the sample is ongoing at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories. [node:read-more:link]