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Even as the Trump administration’s trade war with China starts to bite farm country, producers aren’t getting a lot of sympathy from White House trade adviser Peter Navarro.  Navarro, speaking from the White House lawn , said the trade losses due to China’s new tariffs amount to a “rounding error.” Some soybean growers already are expected to go out of business later this year due to the depressed prices that resulted from China’s 25 percent retaliatory tariff. [node:read-more:link]

Representative Craig Hickman reportedly was burned on his legs and chest during the Tuesday morning incident. A state representative from Winthrop was burned badly Tuesday morning while attempting to light a brush pile on fire but was expected to make a full recovery. [node:read-more:link]

 Frustrated by lawmakers’ refusal to consider a bill to get tougher on sources of agricultural pollution feeding Lake Erie’s chronic toxic algae problem, Gov. John Kasich on Wednesday took matters into his own hands with an executive order. “This is just requiring farmers to figure out a way to manage their land in a more effective and environmentally friendly way,” the Republican governor said. [node:read-more:link]

Purdue University agricultural economist Chris Hurt paints a bleak picture for the U.S. pork industry in the coming months as broader trade issues with major export markets are resulting in retaliation against U.S. pork exports.  Hurt outlines prospects for large pork supplies pushing prices down as low as $10 per head below cost of production this year. [node:read-more:link]

Rural households across the United States spend a disproportionately high share of their income on energy bills — about 40 percent more than their metropolitan counterparts, according to a new report released today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) coalition. The problem is most glaring in the East and Southeast, and among low-income households across all regions. [node:read-more:link]

Baltimore has become the first major city to prohibit restaurants from including sugary drinks on children's menus. The measure, which went into effect on Wednesday, is intended to promote healthy habits in young children and their families by making the default kids' menu options water, milk and 100 percent fruit juices.Parents will still be able to order sugary drinks, such as sodas, for their children. [node:read-more:link]

When Massachusetts and Kentucky residents from politically polar-opposite regions met, it was “love at first sight.” Led by Paula Green, who has led “conflict transformation” efforts for decades in Bosnia, Rwanda and other trouble spots around the world, Hands Across the Hills has included more than a dozen hours of direct dialogue — last October in Leverett and then in April in Whitesburg, Ky. [node:read-more:link]

In the Trump administration’s trade war with China, American farmers are fast becoming the biggest losers. Farmers are enduring the worst cycle they’ve seen since the 1980s farm crisis: a multiyear slump in farm prices that has slashed net farm income by more than 50 percent since 2013. Increasingly, farmers are pinched by prices that are far below their cost of production, as well as rising input costs, growing debt, tightening credit conditions and much more. Every day on our 1-800 Farm Aid hotline, we hear from farmers struggling to make ends meet. They can't pay their electric bills. [node:read-more:link]

After widespread outrage in the news and on social media, the USDA has responded to reports that SNAP will not be available to use at many farmers markets. use of SNAP benefits at farmers markets has been increasing more and more each year. But the system used to actually process the payments is supported by a middleman between the USDA and the markets. Until recently, that middleman was the Famers Market Coalition, but the USDA recently awarded the contract to a new middleman. [node:read-more:link]

It's a tough time for dairy farmers with dropping milk prices and less consumption. They're scraping the barrel and for some, it's proven to be too much. We first reported on the dropping milk prices in March. Months later, things aren't any better. Dairy farmers are as broke as ever and now they're asking for help."I say we're worthless," said Betsy Musser, owner of Den Be Farm.Over 30 years in dairy farming and that's how she feels about her business. [node:read-more:link]