The recent discovery of documents that the sugar industry paid scientists to blame saturated fat for promoting heart disease appears to vindicate the findings of an independent author who found that eating meat, butter and cheese may not be completely to blame for human heart illness. [node:read-more:link]

This study reviews microbial hazards and risks in the U.S. meat and poultry supply that have emerged, are emerging, or that evidence suggests may emerge in the future. [node:read-more:link]

Some of Wisconsin's largest farm groups are worried federal regulators will expand restrictions on atrazine, a weed killer sprayed on corn fields and other crops.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a draft ecological risk assessment of atrazine this summer and recommended reducing the allowable levels.  Farm groups have asked farmers to contact the EPA and urge the agency to reconsider its stance.  Wisconsin Corn Growers Association officials said the reduced allowable levels would effectively ban the use of the weed killer in nearly 100 herbicide mixes. [node:read-more:link]

Craft food and beverage makers in Michigan's Thumb area will soon compete for a $2,000 prize to help fund their new business.  The I-69 Thumb Region Catapult Your Craft Food and Beverage Business Competition will start with a local competition, before winners move on to a regional competition that includes seven counties. [node:read-more:link]

Bayer's acquisition of Monsanto, at $128 per share, is the largest cash bid on record. Bayer and Monsanto have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Bayer will acquire Monsanto for USD$128 per share in an all-cash transaction ($66 billion). Based on Monsanto's closing share price on May 9, the day before Bayer's first written proposal to Monsanto, the offer represents a premium of 44 percent to that price.The combined agriculture business will have its global seeds and traits and North American commercial headquarters in St. [node:read-more:link]

Most crops got off to a decent start this year in Ohio and Pennsylvania. But the success of the crop from mid-season onward all depended on who got the rain — and who did not.  For most of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and especially upstate New York, rain was a spotty thing that came in time for some counties, while going around others, leaving behind an unusual and unfortunate path of drought across the three states.  On the upside, heavy rains came by mid- to late August. But for many crops, especially corn, the damage had already been done. According to the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has scheduled some must-see TV for farmers and other involved in the seed, biotechnology and chemical mergers.  Grassley released a witness list late Wednesday for the Sept. 20 hearing by his committee -- Consolidation and Competition in the U.S. Seed and Agrochemical Industry. [node:read-more:link]

The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program provides 4 million low-income elementary students in 8,000 schools with a fresh fruit or vegetable snack every day at school. [node:read-more:link]

In another sign that the economic recovery is moving very slowly for rural America, median household incomes for rural Americans didn’t improve from 2014 to 2015 while they did for metropolitan areas.  The Census Bureau’s newly released income and earnings report for 2014-2015 showed that median household incomes rose last year for the nation for the first time since 2007. Nationally, median household income grew by about $2,800 to reach $56,516 in 2015. [node:read-more:link]

Pale green and 8 feet tall, tightly packed corn stalks reach to the horizon throughout the Midwest in what is likely to be the biggest harvest the U.S. has ever seen.Aside from a sense of pride in breaking the previous record by nearly a billion bushels, farmers won't benefit. They'll lose money on virtually every cob.It'll be the third consecutive year in which most corn farmers will spend more than they'll earn. The growing has been too good and the resulting glut of corn depressed prices to a decade-low. [node:read-more:link]