AgClips
Recent AgClips
Under new Iowa law, county fairs get legal protections related to animal-to-human diseases
CSG Midwest | Posted onJanuary 29, 2018 in Agriculture NewsLast year, 2.3 million people attended Iowa’s 105 volunteer-driven, youth-oriented county and regional fairs. That means a lot of people in close contact with farm animals — and, as a result, the chance for outbreaks of zoonotic disease. “I see fair officials doing due diligence to reduce the risk of visitors getting sick,” notes Iowa Sen. Dan Zumbach, who, like many farmers, has been a 4-H leader and is active on his county board.
Budweiser’s New Symbol Stands For Every Beer Made With 100% Renewable Energy
Fast Company | Posted onJanuary 26, 2018 in Food NewsLast March, AB InBev announced every single bottle of beer it brews will be done with renewable energy by 2025. The company is making progress on that pledge and by this spring, every bottle of Budweiser brewed in the U.S. will be made with renewable electricity. This week the brand is unveiling a new symbol it will be putting on each bottle produced with 100% renewable energy.
New DOE competition aims to jump-start US solar manufacturing
The Hill | Posted onJanuary 26, 2018 in Energy NewsThe Department of Energy announced a new competition Wednesday to "re-energize innovation" in the U.S. solar manufacturing market, following the president's decision earlier this week to place tariffs on imported solar panel technology. The challenge-based "American Made Solar Prize" would award $3 million to U.S.
Wind To Blow Past Hydropower As Top Clean Electricity Source In Major Milestone
Huffington Post | Posted onJanuary 26, 2018 in Energy NewsWind power is forecast to surpass hydroelectricity for the first time as the nation’s top source of renewable electricity sometime in the next year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. The sector is expected to produce 6.4 percent of utility-scale electricity in 2018, and 6.9 percent in 2019, propelled by a construction boom of new turbines across the country.Few new hydropower plants are in the works, so new electricity generation depends on how much rainfall and water runoff pools in existing dams and reservoirs.
New Meat MythCrusher video on processed meat in the diet
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onJanuary 26, 2018 in Food NewsThe newest Meat MythCrusher video featuring Texas A&M nutrition expert Kerri Gehring, explains the benefits in the diet of meats such as hot dogs, bacon, sausage and deli meats and the many nutrients that these products deliver. The Meat MythCrusher video is the 52nd in the series jointly produced by the North American Meat Institute and American Meat Science Association.“The Dietary Guidelines for Americans say that processed meats can fit within a healthy dietary pattern, said Dr. Gehring.
Distributor ordered to pay $105.5 million to Cargill for billing fraud
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onJanuary 26, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA federal judge in North Carolina has ordered the owners of a warehouse and distribution company to pay $105.5 million to Cargill Inc. after a jury found they fraudulently overcharged the agricultural giant. In its complaint against WDS Inc. and owners Jennifer Maier and Brian Ewert, Cargill accused the defendants of directing employees to mark up pricing on purchase order requests beyond what the parties had agreed upon, over a period of many years.
Study: Ethanol and RFS have no impact on food prices
Nebraska Radio Network | Posted onJanuary 26, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA study by the Renewable Fuels Association seeks to combat concerns raised by opponents of the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS. Bob Dinneen, the group’s president and CEO, says oil companies and others claimed the program would cause an increase in food prices. He says the analysis of the RFS program shows that hasn’t happened.“Overall, food price inflation in 2007 was 4% and in 2017 it was 1%,” Dinneen said. “The 20 year average is 2.5%.
Forces that will shape the U.S. rural economy in 2018
CoBank | Posted onJanuary 25, 2018 in Rural NewsIn rural America, however, economic conditions are considerably more challenging. Persistently low commodity prices have hurt U.S. agricultural producers, depressing farm income and eating into farmers’ working capital. There is continuing uncertainty about the direction the Trump administration will take with regard to NAFTA and other international trade agreements that are vitally important to agriculture. Rural utilities face growing pressure to consolidate in the face of high regulatory costs, technological change and the loss of population across many rural areas
Murphy: Rejecting the Vegan Message
Pork Business | Posted onJanuary 25, 2018 in Food NewsIn politics, the rule of thumb has long been that negative campaigning generates traction. Conventional wisdom suggests that the more a candidate smears his or her opponent, the greater the impact on the voters. But in marketing consumer products, ad agencies have traditionally gone in the other direction: Sell the benefits of your product, create “good feelings” about the brand and avoid spending precious share of mind on trying to trash the competition. That’s changed in recent years, perhaps in tandem with the coarsening of political speech.
Job creator, or job killer? Trump angers solar installers with panel tariff
Reuters | Posted onJanuary 25, 2018 in Energy NewsU.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a steep tariff on imported solar panels on Tuesday, a move billed as a way to protect American jobs but which the solar industry said would lead to thousands of layoffs and raise consumer prices.But the solar industry countered that the move will raise the cost of installing panels, quash billions of dollars of investment, and kill tens of thousands of jobs, raising questions about whether Trump’s move will backfire by triggering mass layoffs.“We are not happy with this decision,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the U.S.