Steve Davies

With the war in Ukraine dragging on, farmers in the European Union are going to be allowed to plant crops on conservation acreage this spring, and there is new pressure on the Biden administration to do the same.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says it’s far too early to tell how much impact the war in Ukraine will ultimately have on consumers and global food supplies.

The Environmental Protection Agency is considering how to allow some continued uses of chlorpyrifos in the future, even though the chemical’s use on food crops has been revoked.

The Food and Drug Administration has stayed certain parts of a rule issued last year amending the standard of identity for yogurt, in response to objections filed by the International Dairy Foods Association and yogurt maker Chobani.

A federal judge has struck down Iowa’s most recent attempt to enact a so-called “ag gag law” that would have criminalized undercover investigations at animal confinement facilities, finding that “the state … may not single out individuals for special punishment based on their critical viewpoint of agricultural practices.”

Farm equipment manufacturer John Deere announced Monday it plans to expand the availability of tools for diagnosing problems with equipment in 2023, while also teasing additional announcements on repair options in the future.

Publicly traded companies would have to disclose the greenhouse gas emissions from their operations and supply chains and also report progress being made toward achieving reductions, under a proposal released Monday by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Senate next week will take a key step to begin negotiations with the House on an international competitiveness bill.

A federal appeals court has rejected an effort by farm groups to stay the Environmental Protection Agency’s revocation of food tolerances for chlorpyrifos, which went into effect Feb. 28.