The downturn in commodity prices is starting to put serious pressure on producers across the country that rent most of their farmland. A report from DTN says that group most likely consists of young farmers and experienced operators who rapidly expanded when $8 corn was about to end. Cash rents haven’t adjusted to the lower commodity prices as quickly. A recent Iowa State University survey of cash rents shows a price of $270 per acre in 2013 has only come down to $230 an acre in 2016. University of Illinois economist Gary Schnitkey estimates farmers in his state lost $101 dollars an acre on cash rent land, and only $1 per acre on land they owned. Working capital drops based on the amount of land farmers rent. An Illinois study said farmers who rent 25 to 50 percent of their land had about $70 dollars more per acre in working capital than 100 percent cash renters from 2003-2008. After commodity prices dropped, that gap jumped to $190 dollars an acre.

A new survey conducted by the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the University of Pennsylvania shows Americans widely support the labeling of genetically modified foods. However, they don’t appear to have a lot of actual knowledge about scientific evidence that supports the safety of those foods. 58 percent of the adults in the survey admit to having a fair or poor understanding of what genetically modified foods are. 88 percent of those surveyed support the mandatory labeling of GMO foods, and 91 percent say that people have a right to know what they’re eating. Only 18 percent of those surveyed knew about a May 17 report on GMO’s from the National Academies of Sciences, Medicines, and Engineering that says there is no more risk evident in consuming GMO foods instead of non-GMO products. Only 39 percent of the respondents agreed with the statement that GMO foods are safe to eat, while 27 percent disagreed.

The 2016 Republican Platform is calling on Congress to separate the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from the Farm Bill. The Hagstrom Report says that’s a popular position with House conservatives, but groups like the American Farm Bureau say that would make it impossible for Congress to pass a Farm Bill. The Farm Program and SNAP, which used to be known as food stamps, were joined together in the Farm Bill years ago, because some lawmakers thought urban legislators would not have any reason to vote for a Farm Bill that didn’t impact their constituents directly. The Republican platform said the delay in passing the 2014 Farm Bill was about Democratic efforts to “expand welfare through the SNAP program, which now comprises 70 percent of all Farm Bill spending.” The platform says the party aims to correct what it calls the mistake of putting SNAP administration under the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — University of New Hampshire dairy researchers are more relaxed these days about monitoring pregnant cows: A sensor attached to their tails sends text alerts to help detect when they’re in labor.

Moocall measures tail movement patterns triggered by labor contractions. On average, it alerts dairy managers by cellphone and email about an hour before a cow gives birth.

Moocall was developed in Ireland and released commercially last year. The company says the University of Kentucky also uses the technology.

Doctoral student Kayla Aragona says with about 70 calves are born every year at the farm, it’s a help.

But it’s not foolproof. One unhappy cow rubbed her tail up against everything and banged the sensor on the wall to try to get it to fall off, leading to false alarms.

On Monday, a panel of experts said world water scarcity is a growing problem that will have a direct effect on agriculture and an expanding population that will need food. DTN/The Progressive Farmer says panelists at an Ag Symposium at the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City said farmers worldwide need to find a way to produce more food on the same amount of land or they’ll need to broaden agriculture’s footprint in the face of expanding water shortages. Mark Rosegrant of the International Food Policy Research Institute said water scarcity has grown in recent years and drought is expanding in different areas of the world. He said the adoption of new technologies, including drop and sprinkler irrigation, is not having system-wide benefits as far as curbing water use. However, the panel also said the rate of growth in annual grain production yields of 1.2 percent between 1965-2011 won’t be enough to feed a projected population of nine billion in 2050.

The Monsanto Board of Directors announced its unanimous conclusion that Bayer’s revised proposal of $55 million to take over Monsanto was financially inadequate and won’t provide for certainty in the deal. The Board did say it remains open to continuing conversations with Bayer and other parties to see if a deal can be reached that would be in the best interests of Monsanto’s shareholders. Bloomberg said at this time there isn’t any deal in the works and nothing is set in stone. Bayer said it was disappointed by Monsanto’s reaction, calling the revised, all-cash offer a “compelling opportunity.” A Bloomberg analyst said Bayer has enough financing available to raise it’s offer to $158 per share. It’s the second rejection for Bayer, who had an offer of $122 a share turned down by Monsanto back in May. Buying Monsanto would give Bayer the largest seed supplier and a leader in crop biotechnology.