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

1. Bayer AG made an unsolicited bid for Monsanto Co., it confirmed Thursday. Terms of the proposal haven’t been disclosed. – Farm Futures

2. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved the ag and rural development bill. – United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

3. Deere & Co. announced Friday that its full-year net income will be $1.2 billion, slightly less than its forecast of $1.3 billion.  – Farm Futures

Ag innovations essential to success of Paris Agreement and ag appropriations committee approves ag and rural development bill.

4. The first shipment of U.S. beef since 2003 arrived in South Africa. The country closed its borders to U.S. beef after Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy was found in a U.S. cow in Washington state in December 2003. – Farm Futures

5. A U.S. International Trade Commission report says the agriculture and food sectors of the economy stand to gain the most from passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. – Farm Futures

6. Agricultural innovations will be essential to the success of the Paris Agreement on climate. – Christian Science Monitor

7. Tom C. Davis, former chairman of Dean Foods Co., and Las Vegas gambler William Walters were charged with an insider-trading scheme. – Farm Futures

And your bonus:

Michael Valivullah, chief technology officer at USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, said drones are the future of advanced agriculture data. - fedscoop