AgClips
Recent AgClips
ICE raids Tennessee meatpacking plant
Meat + Poultry | Posted onApril 10, 2018 in Agriculture NewsImmigration officials executed a federal criminal search warrant at the Southeastern Provision meatpacking plant in Bean Station, Tennessee, on April 5. According to a statement released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Public Affairs Officer Tammy Spicer, 97 people were arrested during a search by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Medicaid Work Debate Gets a Tennessee Twist
Roll Call | Posted onApril 10, 2018 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsA growing number of mostly Republican-led states are itching to create work requirements for people on Medicaid, but finding a way to pay for it could prove challenging. In Tennessee, lawmakers want to add a Medicaid work mandate, but only if they can use federal — not state — dollars to make it happen.
Marfrig buys National Beef, becomes world's 2nd largest beef processor
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onApril 10, 2018 in Agriculture NewsBrazil's Marfrig Global Foods has reached an agreement to acquire 51 percent of National Beef Packing Company for $969 million, becoming the world's second largest beef processor.
Investing in rural America would lift nation's economy
The Hill | Posted onApril 10, 2018 in Rural Newsoday, fewer than 15 percent of U.S. businesses are located in rural areas and small towns. Bank loans for amounts less than $1 million, primarily to family-owned small businesses and farms, have dropped by nearly half since 2005. These are warning signs for the basic building-blocks of the economy which serve as the foundation of America’s economic stability.
No more 'second-class' treatment, rural utility providers tell Congress
Washington Examiner | Posted onApril 10, 2018 in Rural NewsCEOs from rural power providers will descend on Congress this week with the message that "second-class service" will no longer be tolerated and their customers deserve the same treatment as those who live in cities. “Rural America should expect comparable broadband speeds as urban citizens, and not subject to ‘second-class service." The utilities want key grant programs fully funded under both the Farm Bill and fiscal 2019 budget appropriations, as well as "vehicles to invest in rural broadband,” which means a combination of loans and grants.
Cheese-maker stepping up to help save 4 family farms as dairy crisis deepens
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Posted onApril 10, 2018 in Agriculture NewsNot many people get to save a family farm, let alone four of them, but cheese-makers Jay and John Noble may do just that. The Racine County brothers are reopening the Beechwood cheese plant near Adell, in Sheboygan County, that's been closed for about a year. By most standards it’s a small plant, a two-man operation where the Nobles will make high-end organic cheese.
Checkoffs return $9 for every dollar spent on marketing
Bloomberg | Posted onApril 10, 2018 in Food NewsSince the 1990s, the money for campaigns like “Beef: It’s What’s for Dinner” and “Got Milk?” came from mandatory fees charged to producers to fund the industry organizations. Now the payments are under threat from cattle ranchers and their congressional allies who want to make them optional. They say they’d prefer that advertising not benefit rival beef producers from other countries, who also pay fees, because U.S. beef is best.
Front-of-package labelling proposal has Canadian dairy farmers concerned
The Western Producer | Posted onApril 10, 2018 in Agriculture NewsHealth Canada launched a consultation period in February for its proposed new front-of-packaging labelling. The proposal is part of Health Canada's Healthy Eating Strategy and would include placing new warning labels on the front of products sold in Canada for foods that are high in saturated fats, sugars and sodium. “Our concern is that many Canadians would actually put that product back down if they see a warning label on it. So it would impact our markets domestically,” said David Wiens, chair of Dairy Farmers of Manitoba.
Kentucky Ag Commissioner hails industrial hemp research pilot program’s multi-million-dollar economic impact
Lane Report | Posted onApril 5, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsKentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles announced that preliminary analysis of the 2017 Industrial Hemp Research Pilot Program reveals a multi-million-dollar economic impact for the state. According to early analysis of the 2017 processor production reports, Kentucky licensed processors paid Kentucky growers $7.5 million for harvested hemp. Additionally, Industrial Hemp Research Pilot Program processor licensees reported $25.6 million in capital improvements and investments and $16.7 million in gross product sales.
NY creamery shut down because owner did not ‘understand’
Food Safety News | Posted onApril 5, 2018 in Food NewsA federal court has shut down the Walton, NY, creamery that last year was the source of a multistate listeriosis outbreak that infected eight people in four states with listeriosis, resulting in two deaths.