"EPA continues to approve pesticides that have been banned in other countries or identified by its own scientists as possibly causing cancer, a group critical of farm chemicals said."

"Environmentalists and politicians worry Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts could be weakened, if not doomed, days after the federal official overseeing that work called an agreement to reduce water pollution an “aspirational” goal and not rules to be enforced."

"In a desert far from any city, farmers use groundwater to grow lush green hay. The hay fattens livestock all over the world. But there's a big problem: The water is drying up."

"Some farm groups and farm-state lawmakers expressed anger at the Trump administration Thursday over final ethanol rules that they said failed to uphold the president’s promises to the industry."

"The U.S. is weighing in on Bayer AG ’s side in its appeal of the first, and so far only, federal jury verdict finding the company’s Roundup weed killer causes cancer."

"EPA today proposed new restrictions on the use of the weedkiller atrazine, a widely used agricultural chemical. But environmentalists say EPA's plan weakens protections and would allow 50% more of the endocrine-disrupting herbicide linked to birth defects and cancer to end up in waterways."

"An environmental group launched legal action on Thursday seeking to ban commercial use of “super-toxic” rat poisons in California, citing data showing the products pose a grave threat to a dozen endangered species and other wildlife."

"Extreme weather patterns associated with heat waves and droughts are raising the risks of simultaneous harvest failures of vital crops worldwide such as wheat, maize and soybeans, two studies published Monday found. This is pushing the world closer to the edge of potential food price spikes, associated social unrest and food shortages."

"New York will restrict the use of the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos, but will rely on regulations rather than legislation to accomplish the goal."

"A majority of Americans say they want more stringent oversight of large-scale livestock operations, according to a national poll by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for a Livable Future released Tuesday. The polling follows a recent recommendation from the nation’s leading public health association to temporarily halt the creation of new concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, and increase their oversight and regulation."