Articles by Sara Wyant

Monsanto officials have been quietly alerting some farmers, dealers, employees and industry leaders in recent weeks that a computer server at their Precision Planting center in Tremont, Illinois was remotely hacked, industry sources told Agri-Pulse.

Monsanto announced today that Kasey Gillette, the Senior Policy Advisor handling agriculture, nutrition and other policy issues in the office of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid since 2009, will join the firm as Director of Government Affairs. Kasey will be based out of the Washington, D.C.,

A top executive in the cellulosic biofuel industry says farmers as well as manufacturers will lose a major economic opportunity if EPA adopts the blending requirements proposed for 2014 under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Ordinarily, Jerry Cope would be loading between 100 and 125 rail cars with grain at this time of year, moving outbound from Dakota Mill and Grain in western South Dakota to flour mills and birdseed processors on the East Coast.

Early reaction to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed new rule to define “waters of the U.S.” last week was fairly predictable. Republicans and even a few Senate Democrats bashed the March 25 proposal as another example of regulatory overreach by out of touch bureaucrats. Iowa Sena

The authors of the latest report from an UN-sponsored group of scientists and researchers charged with addressing the impacts of a changing climate on humans and ecosystems say food security is at risk and that adaptation will play a key role in mitigating that risk.

It may not be a “cure-all,” but USDA’s newest effort to revamp “whole farm” insurance policies represents a “great step forward” that could really help smaller and more diversified operations with their risk management needs.

Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves, R-MO., and other GOP committee members sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The Senate approved the Water Resources and Reform Development Act (WRRDA) conference report by a huge margin, 91-7 today, just two days after the House of Representatives passed the $12.3 billion package with a vote of 412-4. President Obama is expected to sign the bill within a few days.

After announcing an agreement last week, House and Senate negotiators released details of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA). The far-reaching legislation would authorize projects aimed at fixing ailing locks and dams, improving ports and waterways, restoring damaged ecosystems,