Savannah Port Expansion Lawsuits Settle Out of Court

 The Georgia Ports Authority has joined a South Carolina state agency in agreeing to a settlement that would end pending lawsuits over the proposed $652 million deepening of the waterway to the Port of Savannah.
 

The deal would require extra environmental studies and mitigation by the Army Corps of Engineers. Georgia port officials would have to spend more than $25 million extra on conservation efforts.
 

Georgia's ports board voted to approve the settlement earlier this week, hours after the Savannah River Maritime Commission in South Carolina agreed to it.

New Report Available from NCDA’s Market News Service
 

North Carolina Department of Ag’s Market News Service is providing a new report to farmers; the Weekly Cost Report for fertilizer and diesel fuel costs. Grain reporter Stephen Beasley is compiling data from various dealers to offer a price range and average for these products. The report will be released each Friday. To see today’s report, click here

West Texas Fertilizer Facility Explosion Raises Questions
 

A fertilizer retail facility exploded in West, Texas Wednesday evening. The Fertilizer Institute’s Vice President of Public Affairs Kathy Mathers says they believe some type of Nitrogen was part of the explosion – as it was handled in the facility – but details of the explosion and why it occurred are uncertain…

“I have been with TFI for 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like this. We will be trying to figure out what happened and see what lessons we can learn from this.”

For individual safety – Mathers says farmers need to make sure they secure any fertilizer they have on hand and use caution when transporting their own fertilizer.
 

Whole Foods Market Pushes Forward on GMO Labeling
 

In the past few years, Whole Foods Market has gotten much stricter about where its products come from. The natural foods grocer has rolled out a series of standards regarding animal welfare, and seafood sustainability– to name a few – which is unprecedented in scope for a major food retailer. This year, the company announced that all products in its North American stores that contain genetically modified ingredients will be labeled as such by 2018. And while it’s impossible to predict the future, given Whole Foods’ prominence, it could affect the larger grocery industry as well.