Need a quick catch up on the news? Here are seven agricultural stories you might have missed this week.

1. University of Illinois engineers have developed a model to calculate the age of nitrogen in corn and soybean fields, which could lead to improved fertilizer application techniques. – Phys.org

2. Thousands of people were evacuated in 1986 following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The villages nearby remain mostly deserted. There’s an idea circulating to turn 6,000 hectares of land in Chernobyl’s exclusion zone into an energy generation zone, including solar and biogas. - The Guardian

Several earnings reports were out this week and Heartland Crop Insurance is sold.

3. Obama earlier this month signed the Global Food Security Act to support farmers in developing countries. – Farm Futures

4. A University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment report says that food production accounts for 30% for greenhouse gas emissions. – Christian Science Monitor

5. Environmentalists are turning against the biofuels mandate they helped usher in, which could boost stalled congressional efforts to overhaul the Renewable Fuel Standard. – Farm Futures

6. South African farmers are planting more corn and less wheat. The nation’s Crop Estimates Committee said the corn harvest is estimated to be 1.4% larger. The wheat crop is estimated to be the third smallest on record. – Bloomberg

7. CGB Enterprises is buying Heartland Crop Insurance from Everest Re Group Ltd. With the purchase, CGB Enterprises will expand its reach beyond the 38 states it currently serves. – Farm Futures

And your bonus:

Several earnings reports came out this week. Caterpillar profit per share decreased by 38 cents in the second quarter of 2015. Second quarter sales and revenues were down 16%. DuPont’s operating earnings per share increased 14%. Dow’s second-quarter profit exceeded analysts’ estimates. – Farm Futures