I interviewed a gentleman in Kentucky who locally marketed grass-fed Belted Galloway beef farm-to-gate, as it were. He said he set up his beef cuts at farmers market stands and food fairs but wasn’t having the success he thought he would, even though the customers clearly specified a preference for grass-fed beef. He said simply, “The general public doesn’t know how to cook lean beef.”

Syngenta’s price tag is somewhere north of $43 billion. After reports in 2015 of Syngenta rejecting multiple Monsanto offers to buy it, Syngenta accepted a purchase offer (and is recommending it to its shareholders) from ChemChina, the largest chemical corporation company in China, based in Beijing.

Most of us like to think of ourselves as agents of change, right? Isn’t that the “right” answer, the way we want people to see us?

KFGO AM radio reported Case-New Holland will lay off another 70 full-time workers at the Fargo, North Dakota, plant during the ag market downturn. Layoffs will begin in February. The report stated, “More than 260 workers at the plant have been laid off in five rounds of cutbacks since November 2014.”

Reuters reports that Monsanto has filed a lawsuit in California to prevent the listing of glyphosate on the state’s list of known carcinogens. The case is Monsanto Company v. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, et al, case number 16-CECG-00183 in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Fresno.

Oregon and Washington senators – Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley (Oregon), and Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell (Washington) – urged U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to address China’s restrictions on imports of GMO-free alfalfa hay, reports KTVZ.com news.

George Silva, Michigan State University extension specialist, said current fertilizer prices are noticeably lower compared with prices one year ago.

National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) reports farm policy opponents “love to tell tall tales of crop insurance providers banking huge returns. In a quest to eliminate farmers’ primary risk management tool, they repeatedly attempt to mislead lawmakers into believing that crop insurance profits are guaranteed and will remain rosy for perpetuity.