AgClips
Recent AgClips
NY Farm Bureau declares victory in farmworker lawsuit
Messenger Post Media | Posted onJanuary 29, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought collective bargaining rights for farmworkers, satisfying a request from New York Farm Bureau. The lawsuit challenged a more than century-old law that exempts farm workers from the right to organize. Filed in May by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), a not-for-profit focused on defending civil liberties and civil rights, the lawsuit asked the state Supreme Court to declare the exclusion unconstitutional.“The Court’s decision is a major victory for New York’s family farms,” Farm Bureau stated in a release announcing the Jan.
Does air coming from hog confinements contain manure?
Des Moines Register | Posted onJanuary 29, 2018 in Agriculture NewsThe air leaving Iowa hog confinements contains manure and should be illegal under state law, according to a petition filed with the state. Four northeast Iowa residents want the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to regulate the release of manure through the air in the same way it regulates the release of liquid manure. The state requires that manure be retained until it's applied as fertilizer to farm fields, the petition says. "We contend the 24/7/365 discharge through air vents or blowers contain excreta/waste/manure," according to the petition filed by Bob Watson and Dick Janson, b
Canada's dairy farmers say they've given enough in past trade deals
CTV News | Posted onJanuary 29, 2018 in Agriculture NewsCanada's dairy industry says it has given up enough in past trade deals and shouldn't bear any additional hardship in NAFTA renegotiations. The head of the Dairy Farmers of Ontario says the U.S. should join the Trans-Pacific Partnership if it wants increased access to Canada. Graham Lloyd says giving the Americans any more access to Canada won't solve massive overproduction but would cause serious harm to the Canadian dairy farmer. He says Canada should have recalibrated the amount of foreign access permitted under TPP when U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the trade deal.
NAFTA has helped grow American agriculture for two decades
The Hill | Posted onJanuary 29, 2018 in NewsAmerica’s agriculture industry has benefited from significant improvements in recent years, touching virtually every aspect of a modern farming operation. These upgrades have ranged from the use of global positioning satellites (GPS) that allow for more precise operations to new seeds that better resist droughts. But it is hard to imagine that anything has been as important to America’s agricultural community over the last two decades than the sustained success provided by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Trump administration's farm-bill outline emphasizes work as a food-stamp goal
AgWeek | Posted onJanuary 29, 2018 in Federal NewsA Trump administration outline for farm legislation calls for pushing some food-stamp recipients back to work, a GOP priority.A four-page document released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday called for supporting "work as the pathway to self-sufficiency, well-being and economic mobility for individuals and families" on food stamps. The administration didn't specify how it would change the law or whether it wants to cut funds for the program.
Cuomo to internet providers: Observe 'net neutrality' or no NY state contracts
Syracuse.com | Posted onJanuary 29, 2018 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsNew York state will require internet providers to observe net neutrality or risk losing eligibility for state contracts under an executive order issued Wednesday by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The new policy aims to protect consumers by using the state's lucrative information technology contracts as leverage over internet companies. It's similar to one enacted through executive order Monday by Democratic Gov.
Where the Work-for-Welfare Movement is Heading
Pew Charitable Trust | Posted onJanuary 29, 2018 in Agriculture NewsSome state lawmakers are proposing new work requirements for people receiving food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, and for people receiving government-subsidized health insurance under Medicaid. Others want welfare recipients to pass drug tests. Many are looking to crack down on fraud by requiring recipients to prove their eligibility more frequently and with better documentation. Efforts to ban the purchase of junk food and soda with food stamps are also ongoing. In Wisconsin, Republican Gov.
DNR board approves measure to limit manure pollution in eastern Wisconsin to protect groundwater
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Posted onJanuary 29, 2018 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe Department of Natural Resources took a major step on Wednesday to toughen standards for manure spreading after years of complaints over polluted wells and pressure from interest groups that have been pushing officials to protect Wisconsin’s most vulnerable soils. The Natural Resources Board voted 7-0 to add new restrictions on spreading across eastern Wisconsin — a region prone to manure contamination of groundwater and drinking water.The action is the first big step by the administration of Gov.
Colorado governor releases state’s electric vehicle plans, saying “we know that we can have a cleaner option”
The Denver Post | Posted onJanuary 29, 2018 in Energy, SARL Members and Alumni NewsColorado could have nearly 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, according to one estimate. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday released broad plans to foster growth in the state’s already booming electric vehicle market, saying he believes the keys to economic development and cleaner air lie — at least in part — outside of the internal combustion engine. “They say it takes a village,” Hickenlooper told reporters while flanked by a host of electric vehicles in downtown Denver. “Really, it takes a lack of silos to get an electric vehicle framework in place.
Cloned monkeys, a first, spur inevitable questions of when human clones will follow
USA Today | Posted onJanuary 29, 2018 in NewsIn a feat that raises questions about how close the cloning of humans may be, scientists in China announced on Wednesday they have successfully cloned two long-tailed macaque monkeys. The cloning of primates was long thought to be fundamentally more difficult than horses, sheep and other mammals and therefore much further away. "It’s a significant advance. Nobody has previously been able to create a cloned non-human primate,” said Arnold Kriegstein, director of the stem cell center at the University of California at San Francisco.