News items related to ag tech, biotech, trade ? and perhaps some other interesting items out there related to agriculture ? will be posted on this page throughout the week (as the week progresses newest items will be in?green at bottom of sections). ?Be sure to come back and check the page during the week. ____  

TRADE, TRADE RELATED, INFRASTRUCTURE:

World's second-largest beef exporter may exit market as Indian Government bans sale of slaughter cattle - ABC Rural (Australia) - By Warwick Long (May 30)
"India, which accounted for 20 per cent of all the beef exported in the world last year, is dealing with tough new rules by the Government that ban the sale of cattle, including cows and buffaloes, for slaughter across the country.?The decision will have huge ramifications for beef markets around the world..." - Link
Centre?s cattle slaughter ban triggers rise in global beef prices:?Report - The Indian Express (June 5)

"The Centre passed an order on May 23 prohibiting the sale of cattle animals for slaughter, in a bid to regulate the sale of bovines at cattle markets." - Link

Global Beef Prices Rise as India?s Supply Under Threat - Wall Street Journal (June 2)

"India?s decision to ban the slaughter of its cattle would cut supply from the world?s biggest exporter of the meat by volume" - Link

Unsure of U.S., Asia builds new alliances to counter China - Ths Asahi Shimbun (Japan) / Reuters (June 5)
"Several Asian nations are seeking to bolster informal alliances among themselves, regional diplomats and officials said, unsettled by growing fears that the United States could not be relied on to maintain a buffer against China's assertiveness." - Link
Kenya Just Opened a $4 Billion Chinese-Built Railway, Its Largest Infrastructure Project in 50 Years - Newsweek - By Conor Gaffey (May 31)
'It is also part of a wider project that shows the depth of Chinese investment and influence in Africa..." - Link
Quick Deal on Revised Nafta Is Possible, Former USTR Froman Says - Bloomberg - By Andrew Mayeda (June 4)
"The U.S. could renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement by early next year if it sticks to seeking concessions that Mexico and Canada agreed to make in past accords..." - Link
Exclusive: U.S.-Mexico sugar deal struck ahead of NAFTA talks; industry divided - Reuters (June 5)

"The fact that an agreement could be reached on a sensitive topic like (sugar) bodes well for dealing with sensitive talks in NAFTA..." -?Link

AG, AG TECH, PRODUCTION, PROTECTION, RELATED ISSUES:

Discovery may aid quest for new antibiotics - Feedstuffs (June 2)
"By copying bacterial enzymes, a lab quickly learns to synthesize new class of antibiotic molecules the way nature does it." - Link
New report reignites calls to drop GM crop bans - The Land (Australia) - By Colin Bettles (June 6)
?In the face of these numerous benefits of GM crops and the real-world experience of 20 years of GM crop cultivation in Australia, state-based moratoria just don?t make sense." - Link
Biofortification: Is it the next ?Green Revolution? for more nutritious food? -?Genetic Literacy Project - By?XiaoZhi Lim?(June 2) - Link
US testing begins on genetically modified ryegrass developed in NZ - New Zealand Farmer - By Esther Taunton (May 26)
"These plants also contain higher levels of lipids in the leaf - about seven per cent where a non-GM variety has about 3.5 per cent...That increases metabolisable energy by about 10 per cent and improves the overall nutritional value of the plant." - Link
Slugging it out with a new contender in the GMO debate - Grist - By Nathanael Johnson (June 6)
"Savvy farmers will soon be tricking out their seed planters to place insecticide-treated seeds in one spot, anti-nematode seeds in another, and a high-yielding hybrid in another..." - Link  

POLICY, REGULATORY, ACTIVISM, OTHER:

Will GM mustard be able to survive the challenges ahead after approval? - The Economic Times (India) - By Hari Pulakkat (June 1)
"...once GEAC?s decision somehow became public, activists and other pressure groups against genetically-modified crops have started a campaign, leaving farmers like Kang nervous." - Link
Agriculture Beware: Groundwater Future Belongs to SCOTUS - AgWeb - By Chris Bennett (May 31)
?This is the first ever case of one state claiming to outright own groundwater. This is all about money and the Supreme Court should have left this alone..." - Link
Billions of dollars, First Amendment protections, at stake in ABC lawsuit - Sioux City Journal - By Jonathan Ellis, Argus Leader Media (June 5)
"...bringing suit under a 1994 state law that makes it illegal to knowingly disparage agriculture products with falsehoods." - Link
?Pink slime? trial: beef plant demanding US$ 5.7bn from ABC for ?fake news? - MercoPress (Uruguay) - Link
Why companies in the chemicals industry are mixing - The Economist (May 25)

To farmers? chagrin, deal mania has seized chemicals suppliers...?The soaring cost of developing and testing new chemicals is another factor.." - Link

Africa: How to Produce More Food With Less Damage to Soil, Water, Forests - allAfrica / IPS (May 31) - Link
Food litigation trends: From the future for 'natural,' to slack fill, Prop 65 and glyphosate residues?- Food Navigator USA - By Elaine Watson?(June 6)
"The number of class action filings against food and beverage companies dipped from 158 in 2015 to 145 in 2016, largely due to a drop off in ?natural? lawsuits, but food manufacturers remain vulnerable to legal action on a host of other fronts, from slack fill to pesticide residues, says law firm Perkins Coie." - Link