Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested Tuesday that countries facing sanctions like Iran, Turkey and Russia may start doing business in their national currencies, suggesting that the days of the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency may be numbered. [node:read-more:link]

A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration violated administrative legal requirements when it delayed the start of the Obama administration's Waters of the U.S. rule by two years — a move that means the rule will now go into effect for about half the country. The judge said EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers had unlawfully declined to consider any comments addressing substantive issues related to WOTUS or an earlier 1982 version when it proposed delaying the rule to give the agencies more time to repeal and replace it.That was a fatal flaw, ruled Judge David Norton of the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Last year, climate-intensified hurricanes and flooding along the Gulf Coast destroyed entire apiaries; they drowned blooms in Florida and led to the starvation of thousands of bees; wildfires in Santa Barbara and Ventura, Calif., killed more. And beekeepers need to worry not only about keeping their charges alive but also about keeping them from being stolen. Last year, just a few miles from Kerman, two men were arrested in association with what may be the largest bee heist ever, a three-year crime spree that added up to nearly a million dollars’ worth of stolen bees. [node:read-more:link]

Across the U.S. Farm Belt, the balance of power is swinging away from multibillion-dollar agribusinesses.For over a century, companies such as Cargill Inc. held sway over markets for U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat, quoting prices to farmers who trucked their crops to company grain elevators. Cargill and its peers would then market crops to food and beverage makers across the country. Now farmers are increasingly calling the shots. [node:read-more:link]

Shifting trade flows are redefining the Brazilian landscape, spurring more farmers to align their crops with Chinese appetites. The nation’s soy plantings have expanded by 2 million hectares in two years - an area the size of New Jersey - while land used for cane shrank by nearly 400,000 hectares, according to government data. China’s growing demand for meat has supercharged soy imports for animal feed. [node:read-more:link]

Staff members at USDA’s Economic Research Service were blindsided by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s decision to move the agency out of Washington, and agricultural economists are concerned the department's economic research arm could be weakened by the changes.The news was particularly hard on officials with families who have settled in the Washington area, despite USDA's assurances that staffers will be offered relocation assistance and the same base pay they were earning while in Washington. [node:read-more:link]

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced last week that he will move the USDA Economic Research Service out of Washington, D.C., and place the agency under the management of USDA Office of the Chief Economist. Also involved in the reorganization and relocation is the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, another research agency.  The Daily Yonder uses material from the Economic Research Service routinely. We republish ERS research reports or quote from them extensively. [node:read-more:link]

It's been 4 years since dairy farmers could say they earned a living wage. "It's not a good picture out there. There's a lot of desperate people. It's sad when the people that feed us can't feed themselves." said Brien Tabolt, general manager at the Lowville Producers Cheese Store.On Monday, hundreds of farmers from across the country were in Albany to put their heads together.The dairy co-op Agri-Mark organized the summit to get ideas on how to get farmers more money for the milk their cows make.You can find a list of the other ideas here. [node:read-more:link]

Massachusetts Gov. Charles D. Baker has vetoed permissive raw milk language in a bill to help coastal areas pay for recent storm damage and instead proposed lawmakers consider stronger regulation of milk that does not undergo pasteurization. [node:read-more:link]