US

MEXICO CITY (AP) — California avocado growers are fuming about a U.S. decision to hand over pest inspections of Mexican orchards to the Mexican government. Inspectors hired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have been guarding against imports of insects and diseases for decades, but they have also been threatened in Mexico for refusing to certify deceptive shipments. Threats and violence against inspectors have caused the U.S. to suspend inspections a couple of times in recent years. But California growers question whether there is any hope that Mexico’s own inspectors would be better equipped to withstand such pressure.

WYOMING, Iowa (AP) — Taking a country drive in the Midwest means venturing into the corn zone. Snaking between 12-foot-tall green, leafy walls, the corn seems to block out nearly everything other than an occasional water tower. But soon, that towering corn might become a miniature of its former self, replaced by stalks only half as tall as the current green giants. The short corn offers farmers a variety that can withstand powerful windstorms that could become more frequent due to climate change. The smaller plants also let farmers plant at greater density, so they can grow more corn on the same amount of land and increase their profits. That is especially helpful as farmers endure low prices.