AgClips
Recent AgClips
Illinois counties declare 'sanctuary' status for gun owners
Chicago Tribune | Posted onMay 8, 2018 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsSeveral rural Illinois counties have taken a stand for gun rights by co-opting a word that conservatives associate with a liberal policy to skirt the law: sanctuary. At least five counties recently passed resolutions declaring themselves sanctuary counties for gun owners — a reference to so-called sanctuary cities such as Chicago that don't cooperate with aspects of federal immigration enforcement.
Net neutrality is vital – but so is rural broadband
Anchorage Daily News | Posted onMay 4, 2018 in Rural NewsMost issues look different from rural America, but that's especially true of net neutrality.No one doubts that net neutrality policies to keep the internet open and free for all users is vital. No internet provider or tech company should be allowed to block websites, censor or discriminate against viewpoints, manipulate cyberspace to shut out competition or otherwise interfere with our online experience.But for many activists and tech advocates in high-connectivity urban areas, that's all that net neutrality means.
Grow, don't gut, CSP funding in the Farm Bill
The Minnesota Post | Posted onMay 4, 2018 in Federal NewsHouse Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway, R-Texas, introduced a draft Farm Bill that runs counter to what farmers need. The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), a program popular with Minnesota farmers, is proposed to be completely eliminated. CSP is the nation's largest farm conservation program, supporting clean water and environmental benefits while providing farmers with support to implement conservation practices.
Canada's dairy policies still on U.S. NAFTA radar
Feedstuffs | Posted onMay 4, 2018 in Federal NewsReports indicate that a deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could be imminent, but dairy and other agricultural components remain outstanding. Negotiators from the U.S., Canada and Mexico continued to hammer out details of the nearly 20 outstanding chapters this week in hopes of finalizing a deal ahead of Mexico’s presidential elections this summer.
Missouri considers nation's first label for plant-based meat
News Observer | Posted onMay 4, 2018 in NewsCompanies that produce plant-based meat substitutes or lab-grown products would be required to clearly note that their products do not contain meat under a bill approved by the Missouri House. The bill was approved 107-38 by the House on Thursday and now goes to the Senate for consideration. If it's approved, Missouri would be the first state in the country to address the issue. The proposal, part of an omnibus pro-agriculture bill, is supported by the state's pork producers, the Missouri Farm Bureau and the Missouri Cattlemen's Association.
Solar farms set to sprout across Illinois
Chicago Tribune | Posted onMay 4, 2018 in Energy, SARL Members and Alumni NewsA new crop is ready to sprout on Illinois farms, with gleaming solar panels supplanting rows of corn and soybeans. Drawn by new state requirements and incentives, renewable energy developers are staking out turf on the rural fringes of the Chicago area and beyond, looking to build dozens of solar farms to feed the electric grids of Commonwealth Edison and other utilities. It’s a potential sea change in the Illinois energy landscape that proponents say is long overdue and will provide customers with a green power alternative.
ICE arrest of New York dairy farmer incites Cuomo reaction
American Agriculturalist | Posted onMay 4, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsYesterday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a cease and desist letter to Deputy Director Thomas Homan of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, threatening legal action if there wasn't an immediate stop to their "reckless and unconstitutional" enforcement actions. Cuomo’s response came following last week’s ICE arrest of John Collins, a dairy farmer near Rome, N.Y. In his letter to Homan, the Cuomo cited the arrest as “an example of the kind of egregious and unconstitutional conduct your agents routinely engage.”
As they pick peaches and pine straw, S.C.'s 3,000 migrant farmers rely on advocates and legal aid
The Post and Courier | Posted onMay 4, 2018 in Rural NewsBefore Charleston chefs can mine local crops for inventive seasonal recipes, thousands of migrant farm workers will descend on South Carolina's farms to pick and prune this year's peaches, tomatoes and berries. Last year, about 3,000 foreign workers arrived in the Palmetto State through the H-2A visa program, a federal initiative that provides farmers and growers with temporary labor where domestic labor is inconsistent.The state agencies and organizations working to protect these workers by ensuring they have access to legal aid, medical services, fair wages and proper housing will meet
Pulling water from Lake Michigan for Foxconn plant approved
The Sacramento Bee | Posted onMay 4, 2018 in Rural NewsThe Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has approved a request to pull millions of gallons of water daily from Lake Michigan to serve a new Foxconn Technology Group manufacturing plant, helping the Taiwanese electronics giant clear a major regulatory hurdle. Foxconn expects to begin construction on a $10 billion flat-screen plant in Mount Pleasant within weeks. The city of Racine filed a request with the DNR in January to withdraw 7 million gallons of water daily from the lake to serve the plant.
Arizona Farm Blamed for Part of Large, Nationwide E. Coli Outbreak
The New York Times | Posted onMay 4, 2018 in Food NewsFederal health officials said that they had identified one of the sources of tainted romaine lettuce that has so far left 98 people sick, in what is the largest multistate food-borne E. coli outbreak since 2006. The whole-head romaine lettuce that sickened eight people at a correctional facility in Nome, Alaska, came from Harrison Farms of Yuma, Ariz., the Food and Drug Administration said.