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Farmers and landowners who called on the state legislature to improve the formula for calculating the Current Agricultural Use Value for property taxes are on track for a setback. Miller said House and caucus members discussed the bill various times, but members still need more time to review the complexities of the bill and how it would affect funding for all parties.Rep. Brian Hill, R-Zanesville, and the sponsor of the House bill, said it looks like the House will try to finish up its other bills, and revisit the CAUV issue in January. [node:read-more:link]

 Monsanto is introducing a new feature for its geneticall modified corn seeds that it says will not only boost yileds but cut down on fertilizer use and carbon dioxide emissions.  They have developed a coating for seeds made from a friendly fungus that helps corn plants in their earliest growth stages.  Corn crops treated with the new Monsanto-Novozymes microbial -- officially known as Acceleron B-300 SAT -- had better yields than those without the treatment, the companies said in a statement Monday. [node:read-more:link]

The typical Ameren Illinois residential customer will pay about $1.93 less per month for power after a far-reaching energy bill goes into effect June 1, 2017, according to an analysis of the Future Energy Jobs bill by the Illinois Commerce Commission. Eventually, however, rates will start to increase beyond today's levels around 2023, according to the ICC model.The energy bill, promoted for almost two years by Exelon Corp. to preserve its nuclear plants in Clinton and the Quad Cities, was approved by the Illinois Legislature on Thursday. [node:read-more:link]

Michigan became the first state in the U.S. to develop a full list of infrastructure recommendations when Gov. Rick Snyder unveiled that report. More than 100 recommendations across four areas - water, transportation, energy and communications - resulted from months of work by the 21st Century Infrastructure Commission. "This is not an answer by itself, but a road map," Snyder told a crowd gathered at Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, in addition to viewers at satellite locations in the state. [node:read-more:link]

A Kansas farmer has filed a federal lawsuit to stop a new wind farm from operating out of concern for the endangered whooping crane. Edwin Petrowsky of Pratt County filed the lawsuit last month seeking injunctions against NextEra Energy Resources, whose Ninnescah Wind Farm is scheduled to start operating next week, The Hutchinson News reported. Petrowsky contends the wind farm is located in the bird’s flyway. At last count, there were an estimated 329 wild cranes in the flock that migrates between Canada and Texas. [node:read-more:link]

Epidemiologic, traceback and laboratory findings have identified dairy bull calves from livestock markets in Wisconsin as the likely source of infections in a multi-state outbreak of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg infections.   The CDC is working with Wisconsin health, agriculture and laboratory agencies, several other states, and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to investigate an outbreak that has infected 21 people from eight states. [node:read-more:link]

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced more than 35 premises in Alberta and Saskatchewan are under investigation and movement controls in connection to a bovine tuberculosis case from late September.  CFIA stated that, as of Nov. 23, there have been six confirmed cases of bovine TB, including the original cow from Alberta that was confirmed with the disease by USDA when the cow was slaughtered in the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Second-largest U.S. animal feed producer Land O’Lakes Inc. plans to acquire Southern States Cooperative Inc.’s animal feed business.  Southern States Cooperative is one of the largest U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives, supplying animal feed in 23 states through its network of eight feed mills. “This is an excellent opportunity to expand our relationship with Southern States and increase our animal feed business in the eastern U.S.,” said Chris Policinski, president and CEO, Land O’Lakes Inc. This year, Southern States entered into a supply agreement with Land O’Lakes Inc. [node:read-more:link]

CoBank, a cooperative bank serving agribusinesses, rural infrastructure providers and Farm Credit associations throughout the United States, announced it is launching a new program for veterans with disabilities from America’s rural communities. In partnership with its customers and the nonprofit group No Barriers USA, CoBank will sponsor up to 50 veterans from rural areas across the U.S. to participate in outdoor expeditions that challenge them mentally and physically and help them to transform their lives. [node:read-more:link]

Exactly how President-elect Donald Trump's policies will affect agriculture remains virtually unknown, a group of panelists said at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual convention here the morning after Election Day. There are a number of questions to be answered that are critical to agriculture. That includes who will be the next secretary of agriculture, what happens with the next farm bill, the fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and trade policy in general, the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, and the fate of the waters of the United States, or WOTUS, rule. [node:read-more:link]