A "bomb cyclone" storm that bloated rivers as it roared through much of the Midwest combined with spring snowmelt Sunday to drive some Midwest rivers to record levels and force evacuation of hundreds of homes. At least two deaths were blamed on flooding. Two other men have been missing for days.Some areas must brace for more rain Tuesday, forecasters said. Tuesday's storm won't match last week's "bomb cyclone" that triggered heavy snow, howling winds and several tornadoes, AccuWeather Meteorologist Jim Andrews said. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a rule to finalize the new compliance dates for the agricultural water requirements in the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. [node:read-more:link]

A proposal aimed at monitoring and preventing “rollbacks” of environmental protections under the Trump administration passed the Oregon House 39-20 on March 14. [node:read-more:link]

The market impact of small refinery exemptions (SREs) granted under the RFS remains a highly contentious issue.  From a regulatory standpoint, there is no doubt that SREs opened a backdoor mechanism for the EPA to reduce the statutorily-mandated RFS volumes. However, there is sharp disagreement about the impact of SREs on the physical consumption of biofuels, particularly for ethanol.  The ethanol industry has argued vociferously that there has been substantial destruction of demand in the physical ethanol market due to the SREs. [node:read-more:link]

By issuing a pair of vetoes Thursday, Virginia Gov. [node:read-more:link]

Over the years, top-ranking wind and solar markets have overlapped in just a few states. Where wind flourished, solar usually hung back, and vice versa. “Each of our technologies has largely had their own playpen,” said Anthony Logan, a North American wind analyst at energy and consulting company Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.But now analysts say that’s changing. Dirt-cheap solar costs, record-setting growth and movement into new markets, plus the ability for solar to complement wind production, mean the technology is now encroaching on onshore wind’s territory. [node:read-more:link]

It is critical that all Farm Bureau members contact your legislators to encourage passage of House Bill 545. This important Right-to-Farm (RTF) legislation faces strong opposition and will be in Senate Committee next week, so please take action today! HB 545 seeks to strengthen legal protections for farming and forestry operations from nuisance lawsuits. This legislation is in response to the recent court rulings in North Carolina that have disrupted the financial viability and existence of their agricultural operations. We do not want this to happen in Georgia! [node:read-more:link]

A measure that has already passed the Georgia House of Representatives would be tremendously detrimental to private property owners and those in the agriculture community if it clears the state senate as well. [node:read-more:link]

Market forces have afflicted farmers in practically every commodity. Some farmers have drawn from their bank accounts and tried to persevere. Some have sold their animals and switched to other types of farming. Others have left the industry. As farms evaporate—Rock and Walworth counties have lost dairy farms every year since at least 1975—rural businesses that rely on farmers are feeling the impact.“I think it’s simple as driving down the road,” McMahon said. “Count how many dairy farms used to be a dairy farm. Right now, there might be horses in that pasture. It’s obvious that was a barn. [node:read-more:link]

Michigan Technological University researchers found that increasing renewable and distributed generation energy sources can save Michigan electric consumers money. However, as three Michigan Tech researchers contend in a new study, while utility fuel mixes are slowly shifting away from fossil fuels toward renewable sources, Michigan utilities, and U.S. [node:read-more:link]