After historic floods devastated Midwestern agricultural states this spring, some fund managers are evaluating how climate change will affect the long-term value of companies that make or sell products ranging from tractors to fertilizer. The issue is not simply the unpredictability of weather. [node:read-more:link]

Today, China accounts for almost half of Oregon Hay’s sales, with manager Vic Follen traveling to China three to six times a year for the company that exports for 50 or more U.S. [node:read-more:link]

The Department of Energy has given the Environmental Protection Agency its scoring results for the 40 outstanding 2018 applications made by small refineries for waivers from U.S. biofuel laws. The recommendations from the Energy Department are a crucial step in the EPA’s process for weighing the exemption requests, which can save refineries millions of dollars in regulatory costs and have become the center of a bitter dispute between the rival oil and corn industries. The U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Data in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's latest Short Term Energy Outlook forecasts renewable energy resources, including hydroelectricity, will generate more electricity in April and May than coal-fired plants. According to the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis, this would be the first time renewable generation has surpassed coal. [node:read-more:link]

Besides the plan to relocate the Economic Research Service outside Washington, D.C., USDA has also clamped down on the agency’s ability to disseminate its finding through academic journals, a union representative says. [node:read-more:link]

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has warned President Trump that his U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement on trade can't pass Congress if he retains steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico. "If these tariffs aren’t lifted, USMCA is dead. There is no appetite in Congress to debate USMCA with these tariffs in place," Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said [node:read-more:link]

Every county in all 50 states is home to people who struggle with hunger. Children are more likely to experience hunger than adults.Rural counties account for 78 percent of the highest food insecurity rates.One study found SNAP benefits aren't enough to cover the cost of a meal in most places in the U.S.The U.S. economy is enjoying nearly a decade of expansion since the Great Recession. Yet food insecurity -- a lack of money or resources to secure enough to eat -- still grips almost one in eight Americans. That's roughly 40 million people. [node:read-more:link]

In March 2019, just two months after utility Hawaii Electric (HECO) submitted seven large solar plus battery storage projects for review, the Hawaiian Public Utilities Commission (HPUC) approved six projects priced at $0.10/kWh or lower, making it the largest and lowest cost portfolio of renewables developed at one time in the state. The projects will contribute 247 MW of solar energy and 998 MWh of energy storage. The entire capacity of all six projects will be in 4-hour duration batteries. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has suspended work on its plan to publish the names of refineries securing exemptions from federal biofuels law after receiving blowback from the White House and parts of the oil industry, according to four sources familiar with the matter. [node:read-more:link]

Farmland protection goals in the Hudson Valley are shifting from keeping valuable agricultural land out of the hands of developers to putting it in the hands of a new generation of farmers. [node:read-more:link]