In a major victory for communities across the U.S.,U.S. Senator Joni Ernst's(R-IA) resolution of disapproval (S.J. Res. 22) to put an end to this expanded definition of the "Waters of the U.S." (WOTUS) rule passed the U.S. Senate with bipartisan support. The legislation now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives. Illinois Senator Kirk voted in favor of the resolution. Senator Durbin opposed it.

The World Health Organization is backtracking somewhat on a report issued last week that linked the consumption of processed meat to cancer. According to WHO officials, the report does not call for people to stop eating meat altogether. The report analyzed 800 studies from around the world and concluded that processed meats such as bacon, sausages, ham and hot dogs cause bowel cancer and red meat "probably" does too. The WHO is now stressing a review of the studies by its International Agency for Research on Cancer simply confirmed the United Nations health agency's 2002 diet and nutrition recommendations, which urge people to "moderate consumption of preserved meat to reduce the risk of cancer."
 
CTV News article

"Farmers should never lose sight of the fact that our data has value," Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst said in Thursday's Newsline, which highlighted some concerns brought to light at a recent hearing on big data held by the House Agriculture Committee. "You just listen to the news and see what's happened to major companies that you would think are on the cutting edge of data privacy and yet their data is being stolen, so it's a real concern," Hurst said. Privacy remains the top worry for farmers in relation to the massive data streams coming from their farm machinery in the field.