Agriculture

An Arkansas judge has ruled that six farmers in the state this summer can spray a weed killer made by Creve Coeur-based Monsanto Co. and BASF SE that was blamed for hurting millions of acres of U.S. crops last year.The decision is the latest twist in the saga surrounding herbicides based on the chemical known as dicamba and immediately sparked concerns about the potential for more damage. [node:read-more:link]

To understand how President Vladimir Putin is weaning Russians off foreign food, look no further than the apple trees growing in the Krasnodar region near the Black Sea, where a Soviet-era orchard once flourished. They’re mostly from Italy. Russia is the world’s largest apple importer because local varieties spoil faster than those grown in Europe or China and shoppers often prefer the taste of imported fruit. [node:read-more:link]

Significant changes to the Margin Protection Program for dairy producers were made in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. The Farm Service Agency has recently announced new implementation rules to accommodate the changes. Mark Stephenson and Andrew Novakovic, dairy economists with the University of Wisconsin and Cornell University, respectively, will conduct a webinar Monday, April 9th, at 1 p.m. Eastern, to walk you through these changes and to assess impacts on producers who participate.  [node:read-more:link]

China said it would place 25% trade tariffs on 106 US goods, including soybeans, aircraft and orange juice.The tit-for-tat action comes hours after Washington detailed about 1,300 Chinese products it intended to hit with tariffs - also set at 25%.Wall Street opened sharply lower, but regained ground by mid-day.After starting down more than 400 points or 1.75%, the Dow was only down by about 0.6% by late morning. [node:read-more:link]

The Tree Defender was originally created by growers for growers to provide an immediate solution to citrus greening by preventing psyllids from infecting trees. Having been in the field now for over three years, Tree Defender can still confidently say that no psyllid has yet to be found on any tree being covered by their protective, breathable screen.The goal is to use Tree Defender to protect young trees from psyllids and greening during their first two years as they are in a vegetative and growing state. [node:read-more:link]

The 2018 outlook early this year was for modest profitability. Now, it has shifted to losses. The reasons are clear. Higher costs and lost exports as China has implemented a 25 percent tariff on U.S. pork that goes into effect today, April 2, 2018. Several forces are driving costs higher, but feed is the primary culprit. Since the start of the year, corn futures are about 27 cents per bushel higher and soybean meal futures are about $55 per ton higher. This means that feed cost are nearly $3 per live hundredweight higher. [node:read-more:link]

Officials in a central Indiana county are dropping their fight against a proposed 10,000-hog farm after threats of legal action since a state agency has approved the project. The Delaware County commissioner had put a hold on building permits for the farm in the northern part of the county. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management recently approved plans for the confined animal feeding operation. That's despite concerns from residents over possible well water pollution and the farm field application of manure produced in the site's four barns. [node:read-more:link]

Bioengineers have figured out a way to make noscapine, a non-narcotic cough suppressant that occurs naturally in opium poppies, in brewer's yeast. [node:read-more:link]

The prospective plantings report released March 29 sent ripples across the commodity trading floors and turned screens green. The U.S. Department of Agriculture report, based on farmer surveys, projected U.S. soybean planted acres of 89 million and 88 million corn acres. The USDA initially projected 90 million planted acres of both corn and soybeans in its Feb. 23 agricultural outlook forum. [node:read-more:link]

To recruit more fishers to help with marine conservation, cast a wider net. New findings question previous assumptions in the field that the payments themselves are the most effective motivator of participation. "Similar to the way consumers make purchasing decisions, voluntary conservation programs are value propositions," said Josh Donlan, founder and director of Advanced Conservation Strategies and co-author on the study. [node:read-more:link]