One Cable to Rule them All

Electrification of farm vehicles and equipment face challenges from their heavy weight and long run times, but engineers at Purdue University and Ford Motor Company have taken a big step towards solving recharging issues with a new electric charging cable. The new cable will fully recharge electric vehicles in about 5 minutes, roughly the same time needed to fill a gas tank. By using a unique liquid-to-vapor cooling system, the cables are able to carry more current without overheating. Patent protection has been applied for on this new technology and Purdue researchers plan to work with electric vehicle and cable manufacturers to test cable prototypes on specific vehicle models.

Federal Reform for Cannabis Continues to Grow

Another bill to reform federal cannabis law was introduced this week by U.S Rep. Nancy Mace, the freshman Republican from South Carolina. Called the States Reform Act, the bill would remove cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and allow States to craft their own cannabis regulation. Other key concepts in the bill include:

• At the federal level, cannabis would be treated similar to alcohol, prohibiting sales to those under 21 and splitting industry oversight among the USDA, FDA, ATF, and the Treasury Department.
• Establish a 3% federal excise tax on cannabis products, a rate low enough to keep black market products from gaining an advantage.
• Giving cannabis businesses access to support and financial assistance from the Small Business Administration.

Mace’s bill joins other legislation that has been proposed to de-criminalize cannabis, including the MORE Act. Mace pointed out that currently all but 3 states have authorized some form of legal cannabis, leaving existing federal regulation woefully out of step.

Dicamba-Resistant Waterhemp found in Illinois and Tennessee

​DTN recently reported that weed scientists in Illinois and Tennessee have confirmed populations of dicamba-resistant waterhemp in both States earlier this month. The Illinois population is resistant to 6 herbicide groups, and the Tennessee population is resistant to 4 groups. The Illinois population was somewhat alarming because it was in a field that was not heavily treated with dicamba, suggesting that it may have developed metabolic resistance.