AgClips
Recent AgClips
New Indiana law limits amount energy companies pay for solar energy, increases demand
Indiana Public Media | Posted onSeptember 14, 2017 in Energy Newsn a news release, officials from SIREN announced that six weeks into a second phase of solar panel installations, they were already oversubscribed.
M&Ms’s New Ad Is Selling Renewable Energy And Wind Power
Fast Company | Posted onSeptember 14, 2017 in Energy NewsLast year, Mars, the world’s biggest chocolate maker and the corporate home to brands like M&Ms, Twix, and Snickers, pledged $1 billion to fight climate change through investments in renewable energy, sustainable food sourcing, and more. Beyond the two wind farms it currently operates in Scotland and Texas, the company also promised to add wind and solar farms to another nine countries by 2018 and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 27% by 2025, and 67% by 2050. Now, a couple of the company’s most popular mascots are getting in on it.
Anheuser-Busch signs wind farm power deal as part of global renewable energy goal
St Louis Post Dispatch | Posted onSeptember 14, 2017 in Energy NewsAnheuser-Busch InBev has signed a deal to buy power produced by an Oklahoma wind farm as part of its global goal to have 100 percent of its purchased electricity come from renewable sources by 2025. A-B, its U.S. subsidiary based in St. Louis, announced a power purchase agreement with Italian renewable energy company Enel Green Power for a portion of the energy produced at Enel Green Power's Thunder Ranch wind farm located in Garfield, Kay and Noble counties in Oklahoma.Enel Green Power has been growing its footprint across the U.S.
US West's wildfires spark calls to thin tree-choked forests
ABC News | Posted onSeptember 14, 2017 in Agriculture, Rural NewsWildfires that are blackening the American West in one of the nation's worst fire seasons have ignited calls, including from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, to thin forests that have become so choked with trees that they are at "powder keg levels." The destruction has exposed old frictions between environmentalists and those who want to see logging accelerated, and it's triggered a push to reassess how lands should be managed to prevent severe wildfires.Zinke's directive Tuesday for department managers and superintendents to aggressively prevent wildfires was welcomed by Ed Waldron, fire man
Migrant farmhand shortage has unique impact on area farmers
Cadillac News | Posted onSeptember 14, 2017 in NewsA shortage of labor caused by the national decline in migrant farmhands is being felt on farms around Michigan.As the flow of migrant workers into the United States has decreased, many farmers have turned to visa-purchasing programs to secure workers. But the solutions for farmers are not equal.“It is difficult for these guys to apply and get here to work,” she said. “It is near impossible. And we need these people.”Farmers like Martin typically hire workers who present green cards, in compliance with federal laws.
Climate Change Could Make Great Lakes A 'Sweet Spot' For Dairy
Wiscontext | Posted onSeptember 14, 2017 in Agriculture NewsClimate change may give a big boost to dairy farming in the Midwest, including Michigan and northern Wisconsin, a new study of the future for U.S. dairy farms reports.
Colorado Development fund to benefit rural counties
Biz West | Posted onSeptember 14, 2017 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsColorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade and the Colorado Venture Capital Authority will allocate $9 million, and perhaps as much as $3 million more, to a rural economic development investment fund. The agencies created the new fund to benefit innovation in rural areas that might not have access to other funding sources. Industries that could benefit include value-added agriculture, advanced manufacturing, health and wellness, tourism and outdoor recreation, energy and natural resources, clean tech, technology and information.
Lawsuit challenges USDA organic livestock standards delay
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onSeptember 14, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe Organic Trade Association has filed a lawsuit demanding that USDA officials “keep up with the industry and the consumer in setting organic standards,” the group said in a statement. The suit alleges that USDA violated the Organic Foods Production Act and illegally delayed the effective date of the final livestock standards that were developed by the industry in accordance with processes established by Congress.
Florida's Farmers Look At Irma's Damage: 'Probably The Worst We've Seen'
NPR | Posted onSeptember 14, 2017 in Agriculture NewsWhen the worst of Irma's fury had passed, Gene McAvoy hit the road to inspect citrus groves and vegetable fields. McAvoy is a specialist on vegetable farming at the University of Florida's extension office in the town of LaBelle, in the middle of one of the country's biggest concentrations of vegetable and citrus farms. It took a direct hit from the storm. "The eyewall came right over our main production area," McAvoy says.The groves of orange and grapefruit were approaching harvest.
Opioid Epidemic Continues to Ravage the Midwest
Roll Call | Posted onSeptember 14, 2017 in Rural NewsDespite action by Congress to address the opioid addiction epidemic, hard-hit areas of the country like this one in the Midwest are finding it difficult to keep up with the fallout from the unfolding situation.In July, here in Wisconsin’s Jackson County, for instance, 34 children who were taken out of their homes, many a result of a parent’s opioid addiction, remained in foster care. Those placements resulted in a $35,000 cost for the county that month.While down from a year high of 40 in January, the epidemic has presented serious cost concerns for the local health department.