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Oil- and gas-rich counties ask for more federal revenue
High Country News | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsMark Christensen, a county commissioner from northeast Wyoming, traveled to the nation’s capital last month to ask for more money from production of federal minerals in his county. Christensen testified in support of the proposed POWER Counties Act, which would amend the 1920 Mineral Leasing Act to funnel federal royalties on oil and gas extraction back to the counties in which they were produced. “Even though we have these great mineral resources, 88 percent of them are controlled by the federal government (in Campbell County),” he said. Discussion of the bill at a U.S.
Abuse of Opioid Alternative Gabapentin Is on the Rise
Pew Charitable Trust | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Rural NewsDoctors who are cutting back on prescribing opioids increasingly are opting for gabapentin, a safer, non-narcotic drug recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By doing so, they may be putting their opioid-using patients at even greater risk.Recently, gabapentin has started showing up in a substantial number of overdose deaths in hard-hit Appalachian states.
Tens of thousands of Louisiana residents could face eviction from nursing and group homes
CNN | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsMore than 30,000 Medicaid recipients in Louisiana, many in nursing or group homes, could lose their benefits due to proposed state cuts -- a situation that could force thousands to move.Louisiana Department of Health Deputy Secretary Michelle Alletto said the agency will notify about 37,000 Medicaid recipients, whose eligibility to receive the benefit could end on July 1, they may have to move out of the nursing and group home facilities because of the lack of state funding.The letters, which will be mailed out Thursday, also will go to Medicaid patients with developmental disabilities and
Vermont Governor To Study Whether To Sign Drug Importation Bill
Northeast Public Radio | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsRepublican Governor Phil Scott plans to study a bill passed by the Vermont Legislature that would set up a first-in-the-nation system to allow the state to import prescription drugs from Canada before deciding whether he will sign it. Scott spokeswoman Rebecca Kelley said Wednesday the governor supports the goal of making prescription drugs more affordable, but he has questions about the implementation of the bill.The National Academy for State Health Policy says Vermont is the first state in the nation to approve the importation of less costly prescription drugs from Canada.
Federal judge reduces damages in hog nuisance case — far below the total of $50 million
The Progressive Pulse | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Agriculture NewsThe 10 winning plaintiffs in a hog nuisance lawsuit won’t receive their $50 million in punitive damages — $5 million each — against Murphy-Brown, as awarded by a jury. Instead, the total amount has been reduced to $2.5 million, just $250,000 apiece, according to a ruling handed down today by US District Court Judge Earl Britt. Including compensatory damages for harm to their quality of life, the plaintiffs will each receive $325,000.
NOAA considering letting fishermen take endangered skate
The Sacamento Bee | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Rural NewsFederal fishing managers are considering allowing commercial fishermen to take a species of endangered skate that is currently prohibited. Fishermen catch skates for use as food and bait on both coasts. They are currently prohibited from possessing barndoor skates, or bringing them to shore. Barndoor skates are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says proposed changes to the skate fishery include an allowance for limited possession of barndoor skates.
Landowners fight pipeline in case headed to US appeals court
San Luis Obispo Tribune | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Energy NewsThe natural gas pipeline is routed to run through the southwest Virginia farm his family has owned for seven generations. The 88-year-old Navy veteran never considered signing an easement agreement with the developers, because he thought the whole thing seemed an affront to his property rights. But state law meant he couldn't even keep surveyors out. As work chugs along toward having the pipeline in service by the end of the year, Jones and a coalition of more than a dozen other like-minded Virginia and West Virginia landowners have taken their fight to court.
Iowa Ag Secretary highlights ongoing water quality funding
KMA Land | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsIowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today highlighted key agriculture provisions passed by the Iowa Legislature during the 2018 legislative session. This includes long-term funding for water quality efforts, additional funding for foreign animal disease response preparations, continued funding for the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program and updates to the Iowa noxious weed law.
Monsanto halts plan for BT Soybeans
| Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Agriculture NewsMonsanto has shelved a longstanding project to bring Bt soybeans to the U.S. by the turn of the decade. The company cited low grower demand, but U.S. insect resistance to the proteins in its Bt soybean product is more likely the culprit, entomologists told DTN.Monsanto first launched Intacta RR2 PRO soybeans, which contain the single Bt protein Cry1Ac, in South America in 2013. The company has produced a second-generation product called Intacta 2 Xtend, which adds the Bt proteins Cry1A.105 and Cry2Ab2, as well as dicamba tolerance.
Bring urban livestock, agriculture into Fairbanks neighborhoods
Daily News-Miner | Posted onMay 10, 2018 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsWhen Fairbanks was founded in the early 1900s, it wasn’t possible to run down to the supermarket to purchase a dozen eggs or fresh produce. If you wanted eggs or produce, it was likely that you or someone you knew grew or raised the food. Obviously, the Fairbanks community has changed quite a bit in the last century with the establishment of multiple large supermarkets, but the local food movement is strong and growing in Fairbanks, as well as nationally, as people strive to produce more food themselves and to purchase from local vendors.