The US livestock industry has experienced drastic structural changes over the last two decades. The industry has shifted towards greater specialization across production phases, increased reliance on off-farm inputs such as feed, and increased use of production contracts (McBride and Key 2013). One trend that is particularly relevant to Iowa policymakers, farmers, and rural Iowans is the increased prevalence, size, and regional intensity of large, enclosed hog feeding operations. [node:read-more:link]

he Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to approve the merger between Bayer and Monsanto. If that happens, the world’s newest and largest seed and chemical company will have more in common with Facebook and Cambridge Analytica than meets the eye. In recent years, large agrochemical companies, including Bayer and Monsanto, have been heavily investing in digital agriculture. [node:read-more:link]

It’s a complaint echoed by crab processors in Maryland, innkeepers and lobster restaurants in Maine and Texas shrimpers who couldn’t get enough workers under the H2-B visa “guest worker” program for nonagricultural workers. East End farmers also are stymied by “a tremendous shortage of labor for low-skilled jobs,” said Long Island Farm Bureau president Karl Novak in a recent discussion of immigration policy with Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), according to Riverhead Local.Even before unemployment hit a 17-year low, Devine said he couldn’t find enough dependable, drug-free U.S. workers. [node:read-more:link]

Trump administration officials are worried about a Health and Human Services report on a class of chemicals that could be a "public relations nightmare." The HHS study indicated that the chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, present a risk to health at levels far lower than EPA previously determined. The chemicals have already been found in drinking water and groundwater at levels beyond what EPA says is safe near 126 U.S. military locatio [node:read-more:link]

With dangerously low snowpack levels across the state, Colorado is facing a severe water shortage. We take a look at what that means for rivers, wildfires, and the future of water use in the West. [node:read-more:link]

The Farm Bill, an all-encompassing multi-year piece of legislation that directs what happens at the Department of Agriculture, has gained attention for its proposed overhaul to the food stamp program. [node:read-more:link]

With six months left before the midterm elections, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) is hitting the road to educate and engage manufacturing voters about the policies that are critical to the future growth and success of their industry. The initiative, which is part of the AEM’s grassroots advocacy campaign “I Make America,” will feature a series of events at equipment manufacturing facilities across the country. [node:read-more:link]

The Washington Supreme Court has ruled that farmworkers who were paid a piece rate as they labored in fields and orchards must get additional wages for their other tasks during the course of a workday.The 5-4 decision released Thursday affects wages in a vital part of the state’s economy: the agricultural industry that produces more than $10 billion of crops and livestock annually while employing nearly 100,000 farmworkers.While the ruling is considered a victory for farmworkers, its practical effect is far from clear. [node:read-more:link]

Community health centers in Texas that helped thousands of people during and after Hurricane Harvey have new crisis-response tools from Facebook that could enhance their ability to reach victims when a hurricane hits. The hurricane season officially starts next month. [node:read-more:link]

 On Yaji Mountain in southern China, they are checking in the sows a thousand head per floor in high-rise “hog hotels”. Privately owned agricultural company Guangxi Yangxiang Co Ltd is running two seven-floor sow breeding operations, and is putting up four more, including one with as many as 13 floors that will be the world’s tallest building of its kind.Hog farms of two or three floors have been tried in Europe. [node:read-more:link]