AgClips
Recent AgClips
Trump declared an opioids emergency. Then nothing changed.
Politico | Posted onJanuary 12, 2018 in Rural NewsPresident Donald Trump in October promised to "liberate" Americans from the "scourge of addiction," officially declaring a 90-day public health emergency that would urgently mobilize the federal government to tackle the opioid epidemic. That declaration runs out on Jan. 23, and beyond drawing more attention to the crisis, virtually nothing of consequence has been done.Trump has not formally proposed any new resources or spending, typically the starting point for any emergency response.
Single payer could solve the rural hospital crisis
Jacobin | Posted onJanuary 12, 2018 in Rural NewsAmerica’s rural hospitals are closing down at an alarming rate. According to the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, there were seventy-two rural hospital closures between 2010 and 2016, close to double the number that shut down between 2005 and 2009. Hundreds more are teetering on the brink of closure. Consequently, rural America faces a serious health care delivery challenge, which is made all the more urgent by the fact that rural residents tend to be much sicker to begin with. They have higher rates of chronic conditions and greater psychological distress.
Grain glut leaves U.S. farmers facing losses from specialty corn
Reuters | Posted onJanuary 12, 2018 in Agriculture NewsU.S. farmers who sought to boost revenues by planting corn used to make tortillas may be forced to sell their crops at a loss to makers of ethanol or animal feed because of a glut of what typically is a human food-grade product. Oversupply of the most common grains such as corn and soybeans has spread to niche markets because so many farmers have switched to planting different strains of seed to diversify and bolster returns after four years of bumper crops cut farm income and pushed down prices for staple grains.White corn, which makes up roughly 1 percent of the 14.6 billion-bushel U.S.
House legislation to tighten borders proposes new expanded ag guest-worker program
The Progressive Farmer | Posted onJanuary 12, 2018 in Agriculture NewsAn overhaul of agricultural guest-worker programs is a major component of a House plan to fix the immigration status of young people involved in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) that is entangled in the latest immigration battle on Capitol Hill.
More dairy heifers leaving U.S.
Progressive Dairy | Posted onJanuary 11, 2018 in Agriculture NewsWith the U.S. dairy herd stubbornly near a two-decade high, cow numbers are frequently cited as a reason for excess milk production stretching processing capacity. While latest information from the USDA shows dairy cow slaughter is outpacing year-ago levels and stabilizing cow numbers, there’s also been renewed demand for dairy replacement heifers in foreign markets. November 2017 exports of U.S. dairy replacement heifers totaled 2,596 head, valued at $4.8 million, according to latest USDA Foreign Agricultural Service data. It marked the fifth month sales topped 2,500 head in 2017.
Mexico will leave NAFTA talks if Trump triggers process to withdraw
Reuters | Posted onJanuary 11, 2018 in Agriculture NewsMexico will leave the NAFTA negotiating table if U.S. President Donald Trump decides to trigger a 6-month process to withdraw from the trade pact, three Mexican sources with knowledge of the talks told Reuters. Among the most divisive are plans to establish rules of origin for NAFTA goods that would set minimum levels of U.S. content for autos, a sunset clause that would terminate the trade deal if it is not renegotiated every five years, and ending the so-called Chapter 19 dispute mechanism.
Canada increasingly convinced Trump will pull out of NAFTA
Reuters | Posted onJanuary 11, 2018 in Agriculture NewsCanada is increasingly convinced that President Donald Trump will soon announce the United States intends to pull out of NAFTA, two government sources said on Wednesday, sending the Canadian and Mexican currencies lower and hurting stocks.
Climate and Weather Disasters Cost U.S. a Record $306 Billion in 2017
Inside Climate News | Posted onJanuary 11, 2018 in Rural NewsHurricane Harvey's extreme rainfall and the most devastating wildfire season on record contributed to $306 billion in damages from climate and weather disasters in the United States in 2017, shattering the previous record by more than $90 billion, according to a federal report released Monday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's recap of the nation's climate over the past year found that 2017 was the third-warmest on record. What's more, it was warmer than average in every state across the lower 48 and Alaska for the third consecutive year.
The Tax Overhaul and Your Farm
Ag Web | Posted onJanuary 11, 2018 in Energy NewsFarms can fully deduct all farm assets purchased between Sept. 28, 2017, and Dec.
New Jersey set to ban animals in circuses
| Posted onJanuary 11, 2018 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsNew Jersey could become the first state in the nation to essentially ban old-fashioned circuses, ones with wild animals. The state Assembly, in one of its last voting sessions scheduled for tomorrow, is slated to give final legislative passage to S-2508, a bill that would prohibit the use of elephants and other exotic animals in acts traveling to or around New Jersey.