Around the Country

Ag Summit: Candidates Need More Than a Checklist Des Moines Register

About a dozen potential GOP presidential candidates will be put to the test Saturday at the Iowa Ag Summit, a daylong forum at the Iowa State Fairgrounds

Wild Rice Stirring Debate at State Capitol Minnesota Daily

Though water quality standards to protect wild rice were established almost half a century ago, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency only began consistently enforcing them six years ago. Now, those regulations are frustrating iron and copper-nickel mining operations that have to filter their wastewater, which could cost billions of dollars.

Tariffs and Trade

Fate of Obama's Trade Agenda May Rest on Oregon Senator New York Times

Wyden, whose interest in trade stems from his own export-focused state, has found himself trying to thread a maddeningly narrow needle with proposals that would placate Democrats who worry that any such deal will hasten the loss of United States manufacturing jobs while assuring Republicans that he is not undermining the free flow of global commerce.

Trade Bill Slowed Amid Senate Dispute Agri-Pulse

The disagreement centers on the procedures that a trade agreement would have to follow to get to a final up-or-down vote in the Senate and House.

Health and Nutrition

The Misguided War on Rice Pacific Standard

If rice consumption was a dominant predictor of cancer, you'd have a hard time explaining why Asian and Hispanic populations, with highly rice-centric diets, have 35 percent and 20 percent lower rates of cancer incidences, respectively, than white populations.

Science and Technology

Perennial Rice: In Search of a Greener, Hardier Staple Crop Environment 360

An international network of scientists is working toward a radical solution: perennial rice that yields grain for many years without replanting. By crossing domesticated rice with its wild predecessors, they hope to create deep-rooted varieties that hold soils in place, require less labor, and survive extremes of temperature and water supply.