**Researchers at the University of California, Davis, are partnering with an international team of scientists to develop wheat varieties that can withstand drought and low water conditions.

According to a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, its new genetic research has led to wheat plants with longer roots, which allows them to pull water from deeper supplies.

The study authors say, the plants have more biomass and produce higher-grain yields.

**War appears to be poisoning Ukraine’s famously fertile soil.

Ukrainian scientists tell www.agriculture.com, soil samples from the Kharkiv region show that “high concentrations of toxins such as mercury and arsenic from munitions and fuel are polluting the ground.”

According to a Reuters report, the development comes at a time of mounting vulnerability for Ukraine’s ag sector, as the war with Russia enters its second year, and could further affect global food security.

www.agriculture.com/news/business/claim-war-is-poisoning-ukraine-s-famously-fertile-soil

**The National Potato Council installed its 2023 roster of Executive Committee members last week at the organization’s annual Washington Summit.

During the Annual Meeting of the Voting Delegates, RJ Andrus of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was elected to serve as the Council’s President for the next 12 months.

Andrus is a third-generation farmer and an owner of TBR Farms located in Hamer, Idaho.

He has served on the Executive Committee since 2019.

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