A new study published by the science journal Nature Human Behavior states opposition to GMOs is highest among those who know the least about genetics but have convinced themselves they’re experts. Participants of the surveys were asked their attitude towards GMO’s and their knowledge.

The study points out that genetically modified foods are judged by the majority of scientists to be as safe for human consumption as conventionally grown foods and have the potential to provide substantial benefits to humankind, yet there is substantial public opposition to their use around the world. Authors of the study say, “We hypothesize that extremists will display low objective knowledge but high subjective knowledge, and that the gap between the two will grow with extremity.”

Further, the study suggests that public opposition to science is often attributed to a lack of knowledge. However, findings on the association between knowledge and attitudes about GM foods are mixed, and there is little evidence that educational interventions can meaningfully change public attitudes.

A new ag labor bill by California Senator Dianna Feinstein and Repetitive Zoe Lofgren would allow certain foreign agricultural workers to receive permanent U.S. residency. The California Democrats introduced the bill Thursday.

Under the Agricultural Worker Program Act, farmworkers who have worked in agriculture for at least 100 days in the past two years may earn “blue card” status that allows them to continue to work in the United States legally. Farmworkers who maintain blue card status for the next three years or five years, depending on hours worked in agriculture, would be eligible to adjust to lawful permanent residence, or a green card.

In a statement, Senator Feinstein said the bill “would ensure that hardworking immigrants don’t live in fear and that California’s agriculture industry has the workforce it needs to succeed.” The bill has numerous Democrats listed as co-signers in both the House and Senate.

The Environmental Protection Agency intends to complete a rule that allows year-round E15 sales by June. However, the government shutdown may delay the action. EPA acting administrator Andrew Wheeler told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this week that the agency can finish the rule on-time, if the government shutdown doesn’t delay the work.

Wheeler also told the committee that he intended to issue the E15 proposal next month, but the shutdown has complicated the timeline. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said the association was “encouraged” by the comments, but added, “we remain concerned that the partial shutdown is compressing a timeline that was already very tight.”

Cooper says he believes the EPA could improve the chances of finishing the rule on time if it was separated from RIN reform provisions also being considered in the rulemaking package.

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says his agency is working with the Office of Management and Budget to find ways to reduce the impact of the government shutdown on farmers and ranchers. Farm Service Agency offices across the country are closed and it’s causing several challenges for producers.

“We’re working with OMB to see if we can find some relief in that area,” Perdue says on Fox Business. “We’re hoping to work up some strategies very soon to get these offices back open soon.” In the meantime, the Food and Drug Administration is planning to expand its daily food safety work amid the continuing lapse in funding. High-risk food safety inspections could start up again as soon as of Tuesday. Also, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service remains on the job.

Perdue also tells Fox Business that the agency’s food safety work hasn’t been disrupted at all. “We’re not shortcutting any type of food safety issues there at USDA in our meat processing,” he says. States are also hustling to get Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program February benefits out to recipients starting this week, which Politico says is a big logistical and communications undertaking.

For the second-straight year, President Donald Trump spoke at the American Farm Bureau’s Annual Convention. While the president used his speech to try and build support for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, he did bring up subjects near-and-dear to the hearts of U.S. farmers.

While he’s looking to build the wall, the president did offer one exception to his hard-line stance. He promised to make it easier for seasonal farm workers to enter the country in spite of his hoped-for wall. Farmers have been struggling to find enough labor to operate their farms. “A lot of people don’t understand that,” Trump told Farm Bureau members. “You need people to help you with your farms and I’m not going to rule that out.”

The Washington Post says the farm organization has stood behind the president, even as the delegates were set to debate whether or not to toughen its policy stance on tariffs that were a direct result of Trump’s trade war. Trump only talked for s short time about China, saying that talks were “going well.” He said the USDA was doing everything it could to help farmers deal with the impacts of the government shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history.