This article provides an overview of water scarcity challenges in economic sectors beyond the farm gate that may affect agricultural water access and costs. The relative importance of other large, water-using sectors varies by region but includes municipal, energy and industrial uses. Energy-intensive sectors in particular need careful consideration due to the water consumption embedded in energy use. [node:read-more:link]

The specter of global food insecurity, in terms of capacity to meet food demand, will not be limited by water or even climate change but rather by inadequate and misdirected investments in research and development to support the required increases in crop yields. [node:read-more:link]

This first of a three-part introspective series for communities takes a serious look at why Iowa's rural population continues a downward spiral and the personal responsibility we all have to grow. The article was originally published in the October, 2016 issue of "Iowa County," a monthly publication of the Iowa State Association of Counties.  * Today's column is a "state of the state" of much of rural Iowa, and suggests questions and topics citizens should be discussing among themselves and with their elected officials. [node:read-more:link]

Charges of “terrible” trade deals, the shipping of jobs overseas and the dangers of globalization dominated the presidential campaign. But many states are aggressively courting foreign companies to boost and diversify their economies.  “People make it too complicated,” said Michigan’s Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, a big proponent of foreign — especially Chinese — investment in his state. “Globalization is clearly a huge trend that’s been going on for some time and is only going to continue. [node:read-more:link]

Voter support for marijuana legalization reached a new high as California, Massachusetts and Nevada approved recreational pot, joining four other states and Washington, D.C., with similar laws.  Voters in Florida, North Dakota and Arkansas passed medical marijuana measures, pushing the number of states with such laws past two dozen.  The California vote makes the use and sale of recreational cannabis legal along the entire West Coast and gives legalization advocates powerful momentum. Massachusetts is the first state east of the Mississippi to allow recreational use. [node:read-more:link]

Initiative 732, the nation’s first state ballot measure to impose a carbon tax on fossil fuels, failed Tuesday on a crowded slate of statewide initiatives facing Washington voters. Initiative 732, which sought to apply a tax on energy-derived coal, oil gas  garnered just 42 percent after ballot counts around the state, including an early Wednesday update in King County.  King County was the lone county in Washington to support the measure. [node:read-more:link]

The state question, known as the Right to Farm bill, would have established a constitutional right for farmers and ranchers to engage in farming and ranching practices, it failed 58-41. [node:read-more:link]

Agriculture’s water economy has demonstrated growing signs of strain. Recent and persistent extreme weather-related events have highlighted the vulnerability of food and agricultural production to substantial variations in water availability. Consistent water availability is critical to agricultural production everywhere, and intensifying scarcity presents global agriculture with a formidable long-term challenge. Agricultural production has evolved, to a significant extent, on the basis of available water resources, both surface water and groundwater. [node:read-more:link]

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is investigating an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in Southeast Alberta, Canada.  The investigation began after inspectors with the US Dept. of Agriculture identified a case of bovine TB in a cow from Alberta that was exported and slaughtered in the United States. USDA notified CFIA about the detection in late September. [node:read-more:link]

The US Dept. of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on Sept. 30 issued an updated compliance guideline on documentation required to support animal-raising claims that must be submitted before the claims may be used on product labels. Examples of such claims include “raised without antibiotics,” “organic,” “grass-fed,” “free-range,” and “raised without the use of hormones,” among others currently in use or that may be used in the future.  The FSIS previously issued a compliance guideline on animal-raising claims in 2002. [node:read-more:link]