California is burning.  The state has nine active wildfires as large as 25 acres or more, including the massive Clayton fire north of San Francisco that forced nearly 1,500 residents to flee their homes after it erupted Saturday in dry conditions created by the state’s extreme drought. On Sunday the blaze doubled in size.  “The winds really kicked up, and the fire crossed over tentative lines in place [to slow its advance] and started impacting a whole new area,” Suzie Blankenship, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Monday. [node:read-more:link]

The Food and Drug Administration issued final rules today updating how the agency determines a substance used in food to be “generally recognized as safe,” known by the shorthand GRAS. Unlike food additives, substances determined to be GRAS are not subject to pre-market approval by regulators, thought they must meet the same safety standards as additives. [node:read-more:link]

Williamson is referring to two projects Bulanon is developing at NNU. One is the IdaBOT, which is a robot that can move on its own through vineyards and orchards. The other is a multi-spectral camera, which captures multiple color wavelengths that would aid in counting fruit blossoms to estimate crop yield. The idea came to Bulanon when talking with Williamson in April during the blossom season. Bulanon flew a drone over the orchard and took near-infrared pictures of the blossoms, which showed up more clearly on the image than if a normal camera would take it. [node:read-more:link]

Iowa economic development leaders will consider providing about $11.5 million in tax credits for Prestage Farm’s $240 million proposed hog processing plant near Eagle Grove. Prestage, a North Carolina hog and turkey producer, would need to create 922 jobs, with 322 of them paying a minimum of $15.54 an hour, plus benefits, to receive the incentives. [node:read-more:link]

A year ago, university economists warned that typical Illinois corn farmers would need to shave $100 an acre off average cash rent and production costs if they hoped to break even in 2016. Renters hesitated, landlords balked, most input suppliers held firm. Big savings didn't happen.  Now, worse prospects for 2017 grain markets mean many cash renters will have little choice but to plead poverty when renewing leases this fall. [node:read-more:link]

Spend enough time traveling around the United States and you’re bound to notice a dramatic variation in what a dollar can buy.  Everything from the price of a cup of coffee to the cost of a house can fluctuate among, and even within, states. A gallon of regular gas costs $2.74 in Hawaii but just $1.82 in South Carolina. The average Connecticut resident pays twice as much for electricity as the average Tennessee resident. Tuition at public colleges varies by orders of magnitude. [node:read-more:link]

Donald Trump on Tuesday unveiled a list of agricultural advisers brimming with Republican heavy hitters, including Govs. [node:read-more:link]

Our purpose in writing this series of columns on GMOs was not to try to convince one side or the other, but rather to argue that the GMO labeling legislation that was recently signed into law by President Obama is not likely to end the GMO crop debate any time soon.  We also wanted to reiterate one of the fundamental principles of economics: the preferences of the customer are at the center of every transaction. As Specter wrote “it doesn’t matter…if people refuse to eat it.”  That same issue of “National Geographic” contained another article that grabbed our attention. [node:read-more:link]

“Producers have realized the benefits of including feed-grade antimicrobials, but since they’ve been embedded into their programs for so long — often 50 or 60 years — they might have forgotten how much value they really bring,” said Blaine Corners, PhD, beef cattle nutritionist with Zoetis. “And when you can’t remember the value, you might not understand the risks of not including them.” Less stress, An option for an effective treatment, Healthy and productive animals,Veterinary involvement. [node:read-more:link]

The August 1 U.S. average corn and soybean yield projections, at 175.1 and 48.9bpa, respectively, were record large and a major surprise to the market. While these are indeed "big" yields in an absolute sense, it is an open question whether these are truly "monster" yields. We provide some perspective on that issue in today's article. For corn, this comparison shows that the August 1 yield projection is 10.9 bushels above trend, but it would only be the 8th highest deviation since 1960. [node:read-more:link]