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USDA seeks comments on GMO food labeling proposal
The Packer | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe rules that dictate how companies must tell consumers when they are buying genetically engineered food are open for comment. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking input on a proposed rule to create the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, which was passed by Congress in 2016. Comments are due by early July.
China cutting US soybean purchases in face of tariffs threat
AP | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Agriculture NewsWith the threat of tariffs and counter-tariffs between Washington and Beijing looming, Chinese buyers are canceling orders for U.S. soybeans, a trend that could deal a blow to American farmers if it continues. At the same time, farmers in China are being encouraged to plant more soy, apparently to help offset any shortfall from the United States.Beijing has included soybeans on a list of $50 billion of U.S.
Niles To Roll Out Free Textile Recycling Program
Journal & Topics | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsNiles officials awarded a contract for textile recycling, such as used clothing and rags, to a company last month which will begin pick up services in late June. Village trustees signed a contract with Great Lakes Recycling, which runs Simple Recycling, at their April 24 board meeting. The contract is expected to earn the village $900 in direct revenue and save Niles taxpayers nearly $28,000 by diverting nearly 600 tons of trash from landfills each year.
U.S. Plastics Producers Aim to Recycle or Recover 100% of Plastic Packaging by 2040
Sustainable Brands | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThree new goals to enhance the circular economy for plastics and reduce packaging waste have been announced by leading U.S. plastic producers including BASF, Dow, DuPont and Braskem. Together as part of the American Chemistry Council (ACC)’s Plastics Division, 15 leading resin manufacturers and an affiliated trade association have strengthened their commitments to capturing, recycling and recovering plastics.
Oklahoma Wildfires Cause $26 Million in Damages for Cattle Ranchers
Ag Web | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Agriculture NewsNearly 350,000 acres in northwest Oklahoma burned in two wildfires causing an estimated $26 million in damages for cattle producers.
Newly introduced Utah public-lands bill that would protect 1 million acres is already drawing fire from conservation groups
The Salt Lake Tribune | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsA new land bill introduced in Congress Wednesday seeks to set aside more than a half-million acres of wilderness in Utah’s Emery County.Backed by Utah Rep. John Curtis and Sen.
USDA gives initial look at 2019 meat production picture
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Agriculture NewsIn its first 2019 projections for U.S. livestock and poultry products, USDA today forecast beef production above 2018 on higher slaughter and heavier carcass weights and pork production to increase as growth in farrowings and pigs per litter supports larger pig crops. Hog weights are also forecast higher in 2019, USDA said in the May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report.
USDA projects lower feed-grain production, ending stocks
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Agriculture NewsIn its first assessment of world supply-and-demand prospects for 2018-19 crops and U.S. grain prices, USDA said today its U.S. feed-grain outlook is for lower production, domestic use, exports and ending stocks. With beginning stocks down from a year ago, total corn supplies at 16.3 billion bushels, if realized, would be down 675 million from the prior year, USDA said in the May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report.With total U.S. corn supply falling faster than use, 2018-19 U.S. ending stocks are down 500 million bushels from last year to 1.7 billion.
Consumer challenges Tyson ‘all-natural’ claim
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Food NewsAn Illinois woman has filed a lawsuit against Tyson Foods over an “all-natural” claim on one of the company’s products, according to a local media report. Caitlyn Barnes’ complaint contends that the 100% All Natural Batter Dipped Chicken Tenders she bought for $4.97 at a Wal-Mart in O’Fallon, Ill., are not all natural as advertised because they contain xantham gum, a synthetic substance.She is seeking an order certifying the case as a class action and an award for compensatory damages.
A sheriff’s dilemma in the face of Trump’s immigration agenda
High Country News | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Rural NewsLocated in the sprawling farmland of southern Colorado’s San Luis Valley, five hours away from Denver, the closest major city, Alamosa can feel about as far removed from D.C. politics as you can get. But not when it comes to immigration enforcement: More than half of the town’s 15,000 people are Hispanic, many of them immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala who now find themselves in the crosshairs of the government’s immigration crackdown. It wasn’t just immigrants and their families who felt targeted.