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An estimated 2 million U.S. farm workers, children and others who work or live near farm fields will have more protection from hazardous pesticides under changes unveiled Monday by federal officials.The changes to the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard should reduce the risk of injury and illnesses from contact with pesticides on farms and in forests, nurseries and greenhouses, according to officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Labor.

Concerns about the world's most popular herbicide continue to mount, as U.S. agricultural experts note spreading weed resistance to glyphosate.As the key ingredient in Monsanto Co's Roundup herbicide products as well as about 700 other products, glyphosate is widely used on farms as well as residential lawns.But the chemical has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years in part because scientists and environmentalists have warned that weed resistance to glyphosate has become a significant problem that impacts crop production.

North American investors are pouring money into agriculture technology despite turbulent financial and commodity markets, as cutting-edge advances that enhance farm production bring opportunities for profits.Investment in this technology, which spans plant and soil technology to drones, amounted to $2.06 billion in the first half of 2015, on pace to smash last year's record $2.36 billion, according to AgFunder, which matches startups with investors.

A U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday that federal regulators erred in allowing an insecticide developed by Dow AgroSciences onto the market, canceling its approval and giving environmentalists a major victory.The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, is significant for commercial beekeepers and others who say a dramatic decline in bee colonies needed to pollinate key food crops is tied to widespread use of a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids. Critics say the Environmental Protection Agency is failing to evaluate the risks thoroughly.

Combatants in a national food fight over labeling genetically modified products are gearing up for a showdown in the U.S. Senate, campaign leaders said on Tuesday.The tactics range from old-fashioned lobbying to modern social media campaigns, and both sides say it is too early to tell who will prevail.

U.S.-based Monsanto Co. ÿsaid Wednesday it is walking away from efforts to acquire Swiss rival Syngenta AG, which has rejected a recently sweetened offer.Monsanto said it still believes in the value of a combination of the two agricultural seed and chemical giants, but will focus on building its core business and meeting long-term growth objectives.

A food safety advocacy group sued an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday, saying it illegally withheld public information on genetically engineered crops.The lawsuit, brought by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) against the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), claims the regulator has routinely failed to respond as required to requests for records that relate to many concerns with the GMO crops.

U.S. regulators have relied on flawed and outdated research to allow expanded use of an herbicide linked to cancer, and new assessments should be urgently conducted, according to a column published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.There are two key factors that necessitate regulatory action to protect human health, according to the column: a sharp increase in herbicide applied to widely planted genetically modified (GMO) crops used in food, and a recent World Health Organization (WHO) determination that the most commonly used herbicide, known as glyphosate, is probably a human carcinogen.

A type of insecticide under scrutiny by the White House because of fears about its impact on honey bees has been found in more than half of streams sampled across the United States, according to a study by government researchers published Tuesday.The study, published in Environmental Chemistry and conducted by U.S. Geological Survey researchers, found that five types of insecticides that are known as neonicotinoids were present in varying degrees in 149 samples taken from 48 streams.

Several U.S. farm and consumer groups are working on strategies to derail a proposed tie-up of Monsanto Co and agricultural seeds and chemicals rival Syngenta AG, saying a combination of the market leaders would spell fewer and higher-priced products.Coalitions of opponents are being formed and market analyses being done, moves that underscore the hurdles U.S.-based Monsanto will face in any deal to take over Swiss-based Syngenta.