OKAgPolicy Today is a morning email containing the day’s top agriculture and policy headlines. The inclusion of a particular story does not equal an endorsement. Subscribe to the email here.
TOP HEADLINES
WRDA closer to Senate finish line:
The Senate’s water infrastructure bill is on track to pass this week after an overwhelming procedural vote Monday night to keep it moving along [Politico].
STATE
‘Anomalies’ boost general revenue; state agencies divide $152.1 million left from FY 2016 cuts:
On the same day $152.1 million that had been cut from state agencies’ budgets last fiscal year was returned, deposits to the state’s general revenue fund for the current fiscal year took an unexpected upward tick in August, officials said Tuesday [Tulsa World].
Competing interests in Oklahoma discuss pros, cons of penny sales tax hike in SQ 779:
“Oklahoma is the only state where cities and towns do not receive ad valorem (property taxes) for general operations,” Stager said. That leaves Oklahoma’s cities and towns overly dependent on sales tax revenue to fund basic services like police and fire protection, roads, bridges, water, libraries and wastewater treatment, she said [The Oklahoman].
Sludge may be degrading groundwater, council is told:
An Oklahoma City mother said Tuesday that sewage sludge spread on farm fields may be degrading water that supplies rural residents’ wells [The Oklahoman].
FEDERAL
Trump’s immigration plan raises questions for farmers:
Donald Trump’s hard-liner stance on immigration helped him cinch the GOP nomination, but it’s causing concern for farmers in southern Idaho who largely vote Republican but rely on immigrant labor to milk cows, plant crops and harvest food [Magic Valley].
US initiates WTO trade complaint on China’s corn, wheat, rice subsidies:
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman informed China today that the U.S. has launched a formal complaint at the World Trade Organization over China’s price supports for corn, wheat and rice, saying they distort world markets and are costing U.S. farmers hundreds of millions of dollars [Agri-Pulse].
How the sugar industry shifted blame to fat:
The internal sugar industry documents, recently discovered by a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, and published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, suggest that five decades of research into the role of nutrition and heart disease, including many of today’s dietary recommendations, may have been largely shaped by the sugar industry [New York Times].
MISCELLANEOUS
Bayer to acquire Monsanto in $66 billion deal:
Bayer and Monsanto today announced that they signed a definitive merger agreement under which Bayer will acquire Monsanto for $128 per share – up from the latest offer of $127.50 per share – in an all-cash transaction valued at $66 billion [Agri-Pulse].
