In a generation, mega-farms will dominate ‘production’ ag, analyst predicts
Twenty years from now, vastly fewer but much larger farms will generate the lion’s share of agriculture output, said chief executive Brett Sciotto of Aimpoint Research.
USDA biotech rules nearing update, says undersecretary
The USDA soon will propose a modernized regulatory framework for agricultural biotechnology, said Undersecretary Greg Ibach, the third attempt since 2008 to overhaul rules that were written at the dawn of genetic engineering.
‘Living shorelines’ the best defense against storms
The Scientific American shows that research done over the last decade has made clear that “living shorelines” are far better at protecting the coastline from the devastating floods and tidal surges caused by the huge storms of the climate-change era than seawalls and other “armored” shorelines.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Record-level Midwestern floods (Bloomberg): After the wettest winter in the U.S. on record, parts of the Midwest remain underwater. Saturated soils froze, leading to runoff from melting snow and rains.
A farmworker crisis (The New York Times): The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants has created difficult conditions for the nation’s migrant farmworkers, and led to a worker shortage among farmers in upstate New York.
White House hints at ag progress with Brazil (Ag Insider): Ahead of today’s bilateral meeting of President Trump and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, a senior administration official said there was “great progress” on agricultural trade issues, which should be evident in a joint statement between the nations.
Trade summit may be in June (South China Morning Post): U.S. and Chinese negotiators may not complete an agreement to resolve the trade war before June, a much later date than suggested in U.S. circles.
Can rural decline be reversed? (The New York Times): In an opinion column, economist Paul Krugman writes that “reviving declining regions is really hard. Many countries have tried, but it’s difficult to find any convincing success stories.”
