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Dan Zumbach lost 50 acres of corn when the Cedar River flooded. Yet he considers himself lucky.  Most of his 160 acres would have been lost if not for family, friends and neighbors who gathered Saturday with combines, grain carts and semitrailer trucks to harvest a field near Palo. They worked from noon until 11 p.m. before the rising waters forced them to quit. Iowa's widespread thunderstorms and torrential rains have done more than flood Iowa's  cities and towns. They have also slowed much of the state's corn and soybean harvest. [node:read-more:link]

Up to $1 million in micro-loans will now be available to Massachusetts farmers struggling under the impacts of a widespread and historic drought. The launch of the Drought Emergency Loan Fund, announced Wednesday, is one of a series of steps Gov. Charlie Baker and his administration are taking in response to five months of abnormally dry weather. [node:read-more:link]

Atrazine, simazine and propazine are currently under EPA registration review, which is required for all pesticides every 15 years to update and modernize the science and risk assessments.  As part of the review process, on June 2, 2016 EPA released its draft ecological risk assessments, which drew conclusions based on a number of scientific errors and flawed interpretations.  The future of some essential crop protection tools are at stake.  It is important for our industry to weigh in with EPA to ensure they are following sound science and accurate data prior to making any final decisions. [node:read-more:link]

Nebraska farm leaders hailed a ruling from D.C. [node:read-more:link]

Liberals and conservatives don’t only disagree on presidential candidates; they also differ on their views about food, according to the International Food Information Council Foundation’s 2016 Food and Health Survey: Consumer Attitudes Toward Food Safety, Nutrition & Health. The survey shows while more liberals (38 percent) name pesticides as their top food safety concern, more conservatives (40 percent) are most concerned about cancer-causing chemicals in food. [node:read-more:link]

Policy disputes about how electricity ought to be generated and the role of fossil fuels such as gas and oil on the economy are generating one kind of product to be sure -- reports from economists and pollsters.  No fewer than two economic reports and one poll were released.  And at least one of them, a national poll released by the Young Conservatives for Clean Energy Reform and the Christian Coalition, was aimed at national policy makers and Congress, who normally receive a steady stream of reports from organizations such as the American Petroleum institute. [node:read-more:link]

Following a 13-year ban on U.S. beef exports to China, the Chinese Government indicates the nation will begin accepting U.S. beef from animals less than 30 months of age. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association calls the indication a tremendous opportunity for U.S. cattle producers. The U.S. Meat Export Federation called the announcement a “welcome first step” in restarting beef exports to China. The U.S. Department of Agriculture now must work with China’s Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine to approve the certificates and protocols for exports. [node:read-more:link]

The recent wave of mergers and acquisitions in the agriculture and chemical businesses won't raise prices for farmers or stifle innovation, industry executives told the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Of the top six U.S. and European agribusiness companies, five are in talks for a merger or a buy-out. [node:read-more:link]

Animal rights activists are facing little organized opposition as they push a ballot question that would ban the sale of eggs and other food products in Massachusetts that come from farms where animals are confined to overly restrictive cages.  Supporters of the question have reported raising $1.6 million so far in direct contributions and another $525,000 in in-kind contributions, like donated staff times.  The state's latest campaign finance deadline passed without any opposition group filing a fundraising report with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.  The single biggest sourc [node:read-more:link]

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Robert Bonnie today announced a new three-year, $328 million restoration strategy to improve water quality and help coastal ecosystems heal following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The strategy will guide how USDA will steer conservation efforts on private lands in priority areas of the Gulf of Mexico region. [node:read-more:link]