AgClips
Recent AgClips
Avian flu detected in Georgia breeder flock
Watt Ag Net | Posted onMarch 29, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA flock of chickens at a commercial breeding operation in Chattooga County has tested positive for H7 avian influenza, marking the state’s first case in 2017, the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) stated. According to a press release from the GDA, it appears to be a low pathogenic strain, because the birds in the flock did not show any signs of illness.
It’s not enough to treat animals well; we have to win the information war
Meatingplace (registration required) | Posted onMarch 29, 2017 in Agriculture NewsWith so few people connected to agriculture these days, how are we going to convince students that a career in agriculture is a viable course of study? The rapidly increasing demand for food has insured that ag-oriented students often have multiple job offers. The last few years, many good poultry and animal science jobs have gone unfilled. Without a new crop of talented, newly trained ag students, the world’s ability to produce food will be strained.
Bill would remove barrier to Oregon pesticide lawsuits
Capital Press | Posted onMarch 29, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsFiling lawsuits over alleged pesticide damages would be easier in Oregon under a bill that would eliminate a plaintiff’s responsibility to first notify farm regulators.
Daily Access to Local Foods for School Meals
USDA | Posted onMarch 29, 2017 in Food NewsTo examine progress in the use of locally produced foods in school meals and to help identify school districts for technical assistance, this report uses data from the 2013 Farm to School Census to measure the prevalence of school districts that serve local food daily and the characteristics of those districts.
Maryland Senate approves fracking ban; governor to sign bill
UPI | Posted onMarch 29, 2017 in Energy NewsMaryland's Senate approved a ban on fracking in the state, a bill Gov. Larry Hogan has pledged to sign. Maryland would join Vermont as the only states that ban fracking through legislation. Vermont does not have the shale formations containing natural gas where fracking could be done but Maryland has it in the western part of the state.
WV House passes flood protection planning bill
Charleston Gazette Mail | Posted onMarch 28, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe House of Delegates on Saturday approved a bill aimed at jump-starting the process of trying to protect West Virginians from future flooding and reduce damage to lives and property from floods that do occur. House Bill 2935 creates a State Flood Protection Planning Council, a multi-agency panel that would resume examination of a long-ignored plan aimed at protecting communities across the state from flooding. It would also create a permanent legislative committee that would oversee flood protection, response and recovery efforts.
Idaho squares off with animal rights group before 9th Circuit
Food Safety News | Posted onMarch 28, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsOral arguments are expected to be scheduled in April in Seattle in an “ag-gag” appeal that has pitted Idaho officials against the Animal Legal Defense Fund in a constitutional battle. The case, Animal Legal Defense Fund et al v. Idaho Attorney General Lawrence G. Wasden, landed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill tossed Idaho’s “ag-gag” statute. Winmill, appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton, struck down the statue on constitutional grounds.
Will a Williamson County lawsuit upend the Endangered Species Act?
My Statesman | Posted onMarch 28, 2017 in Rural NewsWalk quickly by and you might miss the coffin-sized fissure on John Yearwood’s sprawling Williamson County ranch, now ground zero in the newest effort to gut the Endangered Species Act. The small limestone cave is home, maybe, to a seldom-seen, spider-like creature with a scary-movie name: the Bone Cave harvestman. The harvestman is known to live only in Travis and Williamson counties, and that fact is key to Yearwood and his allies’ revival of a legal strategy that has been rebuffed by courts in the past — including a case a little over a decade ago involving the same species. But with th
Oil spill in creek originally underestimated, making it one of largest in North Dakota history
Bismarck Tribune | Posted onMarch 28, 2017 in Energy NewsAn oil pipeline spill that contaminated a tributary of the Little Missouri River last December is now estimated to be three times larger than originally thought, making it one of the most significant pipeline spills in North Dakota history.Belle Fourche Pipeline Co. reports about 12,615 barrels, or 529,830 gallons, of oil spilled as a result of a pipeline leak the company now believes started on Dec. 1 and was discovered by a landowner on Dec.
Peabody Bankruptcy Deal Leaves Taxpayers With Mine Cleanup Bill
Institute for Energy Economics | Posted onMarch 28, 2017 in Energy NewsPeobody's debt-cutting plan will leave taxpayers facing a bigger bill for cleaning up nearly two dozen hazardous sites primarily in the central U.S., including a swath of northeast Oklahoma that once produced lead ore for bullets in both World Wars. The 22 properties will be shed by miner Peabody Energy Corp. when it leaves bankruptcy with a plan that shifts cleanup costs to the government.