Monsanto Loses Court Battle – August 13, 2018

New buyers elusive, U.S. builds a mountain of soybeans

U.S. farmers will reap a record-large soybean crop in the middle of a trade war with China, ordinarily the No. 1 export customer for the most widely grown U.S. crop, with no replacement buyer on the horizon.

House Ag chairman was among investors in Innate Immunotherapeutics

In early 2017, House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway was among U.S. representatives who purchased stock in the Australian biomedical company that’s at the center of insider-trading charges against New York Rep. Chris Collins.

Jury awards groundskeeper $289 million in Monsanto Roundup trial

Monsanto, Roundup,

Getty Images

A California state court jury awarded $289 million to terminally ill Dewayne Johnson on grounds that Roundup, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, gave the former school groundskeeper cancer. The maker of the herbicide, Monsanto, said it would appeal the verdict.

TODAY’S QUICK HITS

Glickman, Veneman and Vilsack: Make nutrition No. 1 (The Hill): In an essay, three former agriculture secretaries — two Democrats and one Republican — say diet quality should be a core SNAP objective in farm bill negotiations, not arguments over “work requirements for a relatively small percentage of SNAP recipients.”

Childcare rare in farm country (The New Food Economy): Farm families face unique challenges in finding childcare, from cultural expectations of self-sufficiency to seasonal shifts in schedules and inconsistent revenue flows. Scarcity of childcare is a problem for female farmers.

The three-finger glove for fried chicken (Timeout Tokyo): From the company that declared its fried chicken is finger-licking good: The three-finger glove for the fastidious diner. KFC Japan offers the glove so customers can eat fried chicken while keeping two fingers free for using their cellphones.

Birds are disappearing in Mojave Desert (Arizona Republic): In retracing the route of survey teams from a century ago, researchers reached a startling discovery: Bird populations in the Mojave Desert have suffered a massive collapse due to climate change.

Ag appropriator is in toss-up race (Sabato’s Crystal Ball)Rep. Kevin Yoder, narrowly elected to a fourth term in 2018, is in a toss-up race against Democratic nominee Sharice Davids in a suburban Kansas City district. The contest previously was rated as “leans Republican.” If elected, Davids would be the first native American woman in Congress.

Invest in local food, says BFI (Berkeley Food Initiative): In a policy brief, BFI says investing in local and regional food systems is a sure way to help rural communities, and makes five recommendations for the 2018 farm bill, including additional funding for farmers markets and the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grant program to help SNAP recipients buy fresh fruit and vegetables.

ON THE USDA CALENDAR

Monday
– Acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler visits Iowa State Fair, also meets state officials and “small group of commodity leaders,” Des Moines.

– USDA issues weekly Crop Progress report, 4 p.m. ET

Tuesday
– USDA releases monthly Oil Crops Outlook and Cotton and Wool Outlook, noon ET

– USDA releases monthly Rice Outlook, Feed Outlook and Wheat Outlook, 3 p.m. ET

Wednesday
– Senate returns from shortened, two-week version of its annual August recess, noon ET.

– American Coalition for Ethanol holds 31st annual conference, through Friday, Minneapolis.

– North American Manure Expo, through Thursday, South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D.

Thursday
USDA releases monthly Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook,noon ET
– USDA releases monthly Sugar and Sweeteners Outlook, 3 p.m. ET

Friday
– Final day for landowners to enroll land for high-priority stewardship projects in USDA’s cost-sharing Conservation Reserve Program.

Saturday
– National Honey Bee Day, “to honor the insect responsible for more than 1/3 of the food we eat” and increase public awareness of environmental concerns facing honeybees.

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