Dow AgroSciences is launching a genetically engineered soybean seed in the United States that’s been barred by major importers, the company said this week. Archer Daniels Midland Co., one of the world’s largest grain companies, will oversee the handling of the harvests to keep them out of Europe and China, which have not yet approved imports of the soybeans.The arrangement with ADM shows the lengths that Dow, a division of DowDuPont Inc., is taking to get its Enlist E3 soybean seeds to market as it faces increasing competition for U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Republican House Speaker Shawn Jasper plans to pursue an open position as Commissioner of Agriculture, he announced Thursday, stunning lawmakers in both parties and setting off a scramble among potential suitors seeking to replace him. The decision came after Gov. [node:read-more:link]

Animals, produce, flowers, marijuana, and more are affected.  As the devastating fires continue to rage through Napa and Sonoma, there have been losses of all kinds, including homes, cars, livelihoods, and lives. Wineries, including Signorello, have burned to the ground. But farms in the famous agricultural area are also in the path of the fire, with many suffering damage and complete devastation. [node:read-more:link]

President Emmanuel Macron called for changes to France’s food chain on Wednesday to ensure that farmers, who have been hit by squeezed margins and a retail price war, are paid fairly.Macron said he supported a new type of contract, based on farmers’ production costs, which would require stronger producer organizations and a change in legislation. [node:read-more:link]

Crowd Cow delivers premium beef from small, independent farms to foodies nationwide. “People are looking for more clarity about what they’re eating,” says co-founder Ethan Lowry. The company sells one cow at a time, offering shares to customers who’ve signed up for email alerts. [node:read-more:link]

If the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) current forecasts are even close to being right and the nation’s politicians continue their year-long blood feud, football players won’t be the only ones on their knees in protest.Indeed, almost every piece of news out of USDA these days arrives wrapped in black crepe. For example:U.S. cotton production is up 23 percent over a year ago and global cotton production is up 10 percent. [node:read-more:link]

University of Sydney and NASA researchers have developed a revolutionary new technique to image plant photosynthesis using satellite-based remote-sensing, with potential applications in climate change monitoring. [node:read-more:link]

BASF has agreed to buy seed and herbicide businesses from Bayer for 5.9 billion euros ($7 billion) in cash, as Bayer tries to convince competition authorities to approve its planned acquisition of Monsanto [node:read-more:link]

Hurricane Harvey’s toll on the southeastern Texas cotton crop is still being tallied. An expert with Texas A&M says up to 400,000 bales of cotton were still on the stalk. [node:read-more:link]

A Chicago-area startup is garnering the attention of major industry players with a cloud-based platform for settling energy trades in the decentralized, digital 21st century. Aquilon Energy Services, based in Lisle, Illinois, has developed an Energy Settlement Network that leverages the power of web-based communication technology and big-data analytics to make it easier for energy companies and other firms to trade commodities like power, oil and natural gas.The need for this kind of service is growing. [node:read-more:link]