AgClips
Recent AgClips
Farm Bill must not cut SNAP
Batesville Herald Tribune | Posted onApril 5, 2018 in Federal NewsSNAP has a major impact on families, seniors and communities in our state and across the country. Here in Indiana, SNAP helped 672,000 people last year. That’s one in 10 Hoosiers who has been laid off, has experienced a serious illness or who otherwise might need a little extra help to get by in hard times. Nationwide, nearly two-thirds of the people who SNAP helps are children, seniors or people with disabilities.
Iowa Senate OKs bill opening door to hemp production, marketing
Des Moines Register | Posted onApril 5, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe production and marketing of industrial hemp would be authorized in Iowa in compliance with federal law under a bipartisan bill passed Wednesday by the Iowa Senate. The Senate approved Senate File 2398, titled the "Iowa Industrial Hemp Act," on a 49-0 vote, sending the measure to the House.
In the Battle for the American West, the Cowboys Are Losing
The Wall Street Journal | Posted onApril 4, 2018 in Agriculture NewsRanchers who rely on public land to raise their cattle say they have shrinking access to wide open spaces, grass and water because of an array of regulations. Over the last four decades, the number of cows grazing on public lands has dropped by nearly half.In some cases, government officials curb grazing to protect natural resources from damage caused by cattle, and create preserves for threatened species.
How food stamps are keeping small farms in business
Talk Poverty | Posted onApril 4, 2018 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe local food movement has been criticized for catering to middle- and upper-class Americans, and for leaving behind the low-income in all of the hype for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and “know your farmer” initiatives touted in glossy food magazines. But in the last decade, food justice activists have sought to correct this, connecting low-income consumers with cooking classes, gardening workshops, children’s programming, and locally grown and culturally appropriate foods.
Will Trump crash the farm economy?
The New York Times | Posted onApril 4, 2018 in Agriculture NewsDonald Trump won over 60 percent of the 2016 vote in rural Iowa, where I live, and I haven’t heard much concern from Republicans over the president’s alleged infidelities with a porn actress, his ties to Russia or Jared Kushner’s real estate shenanigans. Or, for that matter, much concern about the administration scandals about wife beaters, Saudi princes, Ben Carson’s table or Scott Pruitt’s soundproof room.
China tariffs on U.S. ethanol to cut off imports in short-term
Reuters | Posted onApril 4, 2018 in Agriculture, Federal NewsChinese buyers of U.S. ethanol will have to cut imports because of higher tariffs, but eventually will have to return to the overseas market to meet government targets for using the fuel, industry participants and analysts said on Monday. China said late on Sunday it will slap an extra 15 percent tariff on ethanol imports from the United States, part of its response to U.S. duties on aluminium and steel imports. The previous duty was 30 percent. The tariffs, effective Monday, will neutralize cost savings from importing cheaper U.S.
China fires back at Trump with the threat of tariffs on 106 U.S. products, including soybeans
The Washington Post | Posted onApril 4, 2018 in Agriculture NewsChina responded to President Trump’s new tariffs by threatening tariffs of its own on 106 U.S. products, including on soybeans, cars and some airplanes, in the latest escalation of what risks becoming a tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s two largest economies. The plan, which was announced Wednesday, would see Beijing slap 25 percent levies on a range of U.S. goods worth about $50 billion. Chinese officials did not set a date for implementation, saying what happens next will depend on whether the U.S.
Lawsuit blames pork giant for noxious farm smells
Miami Herald | Posted onApril 4, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA low-cost, high-volume livestock-rearing method pioneered in North Carolina came under fire Tuesday as jurors began hearing a lawsuit from neighbors who say the world's largest pork corporation is endangering their health and making their lives miserable. The legal action is the first in a string of federal lawsuits against the hog-production division of Virginia-based Smithfield Foods.
Arkansas judge rules six farmers can spray controversial weed killer made by Monsanto and BASF
St Louis Post Dispatch | Posted onApril 4, 2018 in Agriculture NewsAn Arkansas judge has ruled that six farmers in the state this summer can spray a weed killer made by Creve Coeur-based Monsanto Co. and BASF SE that was blamed for hurting millions of acres of U.S. crops last year.The decision is the latest twist in the saga surrounding herbicides based on the chemical known as dicamba and immediately sparked concerns about the potential for more damage.
Photographer: Bartek Sadowski/Bloomberg Importing Apple Trees Instead of Apples, Russia Secures Food
Bloomberg | Posted onApril 4, 2018 in Agriculture NewsTo understand how President Vladimir Putin is weaning Russians off foreign food, look no further than the apple trees growing in the Krasnodar region near the Black Sea, where a Soviet-era orchard once flourished. They’re mostly from Italy. Russia is the world’s largest apple importer because local varieties spoil faster than those grown in Europe or China and shoppers often prefer the taste of imported fruit.