Idaho beekeepers are building modern storage facilities to protect their bees during the winter to so they can take full advantage of strong demand for their pollination services. French, with Cox’s Honey, explained he wants as many hives as possible to survive the winter so he can take full advantage of increasing demand for pollination services in California’s almond orchards. [node:read-more:link]

President Donald Trump said he would seek to keep his tough immigration enforcement policies from harming the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Earlier this week, the New York Times printed their latest agriculture-focused article, “A Strong Case Against a Pesticide Does Not Faze E.P.A. Under Trump.” This is just another in a series of stories that lack balance and fail to represent the perspective of farmers or any other sector of the agriculture community. [node:read-more:link]

Major mining companies, including some of the world's biggest suppliers of fossil fuel, are seeking to use more renewable energy themselves as they strive to drive down costs and curb emissions. [node:read-more:link]

Iowa's Republican senator on Wednesday raised concerns that U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has commissioned a "hastily developed" study of the reliability of the electric grid that appears "geared to undermine" the wind energy industry.In a letter sent to Perry, Senator Chuck Grassley asked a series of questions about the 60-day study he commissioned. [node:read-more:link]

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue vigorously defended his reorganization plan for USDA, saying it would enable the department to move “quickly and nimbly” to address rural development needs, but he and aides later backed off some key descriptions. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, requesting continued engagement with the Canadian government regarding Canada’s implementation of dairy pricing changes as part of a new Canadian National Ingredients Strategy. “Since April of 2016, Canadian provinces have been modifying their pricing schemes for certain dairy products,” the Senators said. [node:read-more:link]

The beginnings of agriculture changed human history and has fascinated scientists for centuries. Researchers have now shed light on how hunter-gatherers first began farming and how crops were domesticated to depend on humans. The University of Sheffield researchers gathered seed size data from a range of crops and found strong evidence for a general enlargement of seeds due to domestication.They discovered domesticated maize seeds are 15 times bigger than the wild form, soybean seeds are seven times bigger. [node:read-more:link]

3-D printed bioprosthetic mouse ovaries restored fertility in infertile mice and produced healthy mouse pups. The mothers also were able to nurse their pups. The research is targeted to women whose cancer treatments impaired their fertility and hormone production. The ovaries are constructed of 3-D printed scaffolds that house immature eggs and were successful in boosting hormone production and restoring fertility. [node:read-more:link]