The Utah Highway Patrol is seizing more marijuana on state highways and interstates since the drug has been legalized in a number of Western states. John Huber, the U.S. Attorney for Utah, says drug busts within the state’s borders historically yielded only a few pounds per stop.But he tells the Deseret News it is no longer unusual to intercept up to 100 pounds at a time as loads of marijuana make their way across the state from places like California and Oregon. [node:read-more:link]

Senate Agriculture Committee leadership has shown that the farm bill can and should remain a bipartisan affair. Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) have, true to their word, worked together to produce a bill that includes much-needed policy improvements and funding increases that will help drive the sustainability of American agriculture. [node:read-more:link]

A multistate salmonella outbreak has been linked to cut melons, and most of the illnesses have been reported in Michigan and Indiana. Most people who have been infected with this strain of salmonella bought pre-cut melon at Walmart or Kroger stores, according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.If you've purchased pre-cut melon from Walmart or Kroger, including fruit salad mixes with melon, you should throw it away.Both stores have removed all cut melon associated with this outbreak, Michigan health officials say. [node:read-more:link]

The 28-page report, called Rural Challenges, national opportunity – Shaping the future of rural Canada, was released May 31 during the FCM annual meeting. It lists details of how important rural municipal contributions are and how unique the issues and problems these communities face. [node:read-more:link]

Some hurricanes are moving more slowly, spending increased time over land and leading to catastrophic local rainfall and flooding, according to a new study. [node:read-more:link]

Scientists who last year built a prototype harvester to extract water from the air using only the power of the sun have scaled up the device to see how much water they can capture in arid conditions in Arizona. Using a kilogram of MOF, they were able to capture about 7 ounces of water from low-humidity air each 24-hour day/night cycle. A new and cheaper MOF could double that. [node:read-more:link]

The Centers of Disease Control (CDC) announced four more people have died as a result of the Yuma, AZ-linked E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, bringing the total to five. [node:read-more:link]

For the first time, spotted lanternfly (SLF), Lycorma delicatula, has been found on a cultivated crop in Virginia. The invasive pest, which was found on a table grape arbor this past weekend by Virginia Tech Entomology Professor Douglas Pfeiffer, was first found in Frederick County in January. [node:read-more:link]

Andrea Cabral had a long and successful career in Massachusetts law enforcement, serving stints as a county prosecutor and sheriff before getting appointed as the state’s top public safety official in 2012. So you could be forgiven for not predicting this: she now runs a pot company. [node:read-more:link]

The outlook for trade has darkened considerably in recent days; a gamble in the trade arena that holds substantial risk for American farmers. In May, President Trump initiated a trade investigation on automobiles that held the potential for triggering tariffs on imported cars and trucks. On June 1st, the long-threatened tariffs on steel (25%) and aluminum (10%) went into effect for important U.S. trading partners (Mexico, Canada and the European Union), who quickly responded with threats or tariffs on U.S. [node:read-more:link]