Editorial: Tariffs and Trumpspeak

As we stumble into trade actions and retaliations that neither the U.S. nor anyone else needs, it's hard not blame President Donald Trump's peculiar and one-sided economic views. The European Union tried a wake-up call to Republicans, targeting retaliatory tariffs against products from Republican states: Harley-Davidson motorcycles and bourbon felt the bite of new tariffs.

Bayer to Sell $9 Billion in Assets to Get Green Light for Monsanto Deal

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday granted antitrust approval to Bayer AG's planned acquisition of Monsanto Co., reports the Wall Street Journal , after requiring the German company to sell off nearly $9 billion in assets as a means of preserving competition. The Bayer assets are being sold to chemicals rival BASF SE.

RPT-Cotton makes a comeback in U.S. Plains as farmers sour on wheat

Farmers in Kansas and Oklahoma are planting more land with cotton than they have for decades as they ditch wheat, attracted by relatively high cotton prices and the crop's ability to withstand drought. A 20-percent increase from last year marks a sharp turnaround for the crop that once dominated the Mississippi Delta into Texas.

U.S. Takes Action Against Canadian Trade Measures That Discriminate Against U.S. Wine

U.S. TAKES ACTION AGAINST CANADIAN TRADE MEASURES THAT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST U.S. WINE May 29, 2018 Source: USDA news release U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer announced today that the Trump Administration has requested that the World Trade Organization establish a dispute settlement panel to examine unfair regulations governing the sale of wine in grocery stores in the Canadian province of British Columbia . The Office of the United States Trade Representative is challenging BC regulations that discriminate against U.S. and other imported wine by allowing only BC wine to be sold on regular grocery store shelves.

Long-Term Study By U Of Illinois Shows Crop Rotation Decreases Greenhouse Gas Emissions

TERM STUDY BY U OF ILLINOIS SHOWS CROP ROTATION DECREASES GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS May 29, 2018 Source: U Of Illinois news release Many farmers grow corn and soybean in rotation to avoid the continuous corn yield penalty, but now there's another reason to rotate. Scientists at the University of Illinois have provided further evidence that rotating crops increases yield and lowers greenhouse gas emissions compared to continuous corn or soybean.

USDA, University Study Compares Farmers Using Dealer Financing And Those With Conventional Lender

USDA, UNIVERSITY STUDY COMPARES FARMERS USING DEALER FINANCING AND THOSE WITH CONVENTIONAL LENDER May 29, 2018 Source: Univ of Illinois news release In a series of recent articles, we show that farmers' use of implement dealer financing has increased substantially since 2003 . Implement dealers currently provide nearly one-third of the agricultural sector's long-term non-real estate debt.

Start Up Crop Pro Insurance Cancels Policies, Lacks Reinsurance

START UP CROP PRO INSURANCE CANCELS POLICIES, LACKS REINSURANCE May 29, 2018 AgFunderNews.com reports: Venture-backed crop insurance startup Crop Pro Insurance has canceled nearly 200 crop hail insurance policies just a few weeks into the company's first planting season in operation. Hail insurance is additional insurance that farmers purchase to cover damage due to hail and/or fire.

American freed from Venezuelan jail returns home to Utah

Seam... A teacher who was shot while tackling and disarming a student at an Indiana school said Monday that his swift decisions "were the only acceptable actions" to save his seventh-grade classroom. . This May 29, 2016 photo provided by Christian Kahahawai shows Lyndsey Haraguchi-Nakayama planting huli, or taro seedlings at her farm in Hanalei, Kauai island, Hawaii.

Leading Off: Rizzo catches Pirates’ ire, Stanton returns

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz, right, throws to first after getting the force-out at home plate on Chicago Cubs' Anthony Rizzo on a fielder's choice to shortstop by Cub's Chris Gimenez in the eighth inning of a b... . RETRANSMISSION TO CORRECT NAME TO JASON SEAMAN - In this undated photo, provided by Southern Illinois University, Jason Seaman, a defensive end for the SIU football team, poses for a photo in Carbondale, Ill.

Zika detection breakthrough by University of Queensland

A cheap and effective tool that could save lives by helping health authorities target mosquitos infected with Zika virus has been developed by researchers from the University of Queensland and colleagues in Brazil. Dr Maggy Sikulu-Lord and Dr Jill Fernandes, at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation , found Near Infrared Spectroscopy was 18-times faster and 110-times cheaper than the current detection method.