While recent media reports have condemned a commonly used agricultural pesticide as detrimental to honey bee health, scientists with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture have found that the overall health of honey bee hives actually improves in the presence of agricultural production. [node:read-more:link]

Over the past three decades the area of sea ice in the Arctic has fallen by more than half and its volume has plummeted by three-quarters. So says a report “Snow, Water, Ice, Permafrost in the Arctic” (SWIPA), produced under the auspices of the Arctic Council, a scientific-policy club for the eight countries with territory in the Arctic Circle, as well as observers including China and India.  SWIPA estimates that the Arctic will be free of sea ice in the summer by 2040. Scientists previously suggested this would not occur until 2070. [node:read-more:link]

Following the success of last year’s #FarmingFridays social content series, Culver’s has again invited agricultural influencers to share photos and videos depicting their passion for and knowledge about agriculture.  #FarmingFridays is part of Culver’s Thank You Farmers initiative, which recognizes the hard work and commitment of the farmers who feed the nation. [node:read-more:link]

America's dairy farmers have been having a tough couple of years. There's a glut of milk on the market, and prices are low.Wisconsin's dairypeople seem especially put out. They've persuaded one of their U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Bayer's chief executive acknowledged on Friday that he will face an uphill battle to improve Monsanto's reputation once Bayer completes the takeover of the U.S. seeds and agrochemicals company. "Monsanto’s image does of course represent a major challenge for us, and it’s not an aspect I wish to play down," Werner Baumann told shareholders at Bayer's annual general meeting."Yet we are facing this challenge with all those qualities that have made us what we are today: openness, expertise and responsibility," he added. [node:read-more:link]

Spring Harbor’s water source is a well at one of the lowest points in the neighborhood. Every winter when the snow and ice melt, more than 100 tons of road salt that people spray and spread on the neighborhood’s roads and sidewalks runs into the soil. Eventually, some of it makes its way into the well.Most Spring Harbor residents can’t tell exactly what’s different about the taste of their water — at least not yet. But Madison’s water utility warns that if the chloride level in the water continues to rise, the salty taste will be unmistakable. [node:read-more:link]

About half of the 675 immigrants picked up in roundups across the United States in the days after President Trump took office either had no criminal convictions or had committed traffic offenses, mostly drunken driving, as their most serious crimes, according to data obtained by The Washington Post.Records provided by congressional aides Friday offered the most detailed look yet at the backgrounds of the individuals rounded up and targeted for deportation in early February by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents assigned to regional offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, San Antoni [node:read-more:link]

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday evening that its website would be “undergoing changes” to better represent the new direction the agency is taking, triggering the removal of several agency websites containing detailed climate data and scientific information. One of the websites that appeared to be gone had been cited to challenge statements made by the EPA’s new administrator, Scott Pruitt. [node:read-more:link]

Blizzard Flattens Winter Wheat; Rains Drown Corn, Soybean Fields.April is known for erratic weather, but the month may have outdone itself this year.Over the weekend, a wintry storm system dumped up to two feet of snow on parts of the Great Plains, flattening a winter wheat crop that was maturing weeks ahead of normal. [node:read-more:link]

Cargill has announced it will exit from its U.S. cattle feeding business. The move means that in the last year, the company has gone for the fourth-largest feeder in the U.S., to completely leaving the sector. Cargill has reached an agreement to sell its last two feed yards to Green Plains Inc., which will purchase the feed yards for $36.7 million.  Cargill’s withdrawal from the feeding business highlights a change in priorities at the company, which says it is the world’s largest supplier of ground beef, according to Reuters. [node:read-more:link]