AgClips
Recent AgClips
Cyanide trap injures Eastern Idaho boy, kills dog
Capital Press | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in Rural NewsAn eastern Idaho sheriff says he’s investigating after a cyanide trap placed by federal authorities to kill coyotes injured a 14-year-old boy and killed his dog. Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen tells the Idaho State Journal that the device activated Thursday near the Eastern Idaho city of Pocatello.Nielsen says the boy was taken to a hospital to be tested for cyanide poisoning but was not seriously injured and was released. The dog, a 3-year-old Lab named Casey, died.
Organic farming matters - just not in the way you think
The Huffington Post | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in Agriculture NewsWe discovered that organic farming does matter – just not in the way most people think. What’s good: Organic farms provide higher biodiversity, hosting more bees, birds and butterflies. They also have higher soil and water quality and emit fewer greenhouse gases. What’s not-so-good: Organic farming typically yields less product – about 19-25% less. Once we account for that efficiency difference and examine environmental performance per amount of food produced, the organic advantage becomes less certain (few studies have examined this question).
The context-dependent performance of organic agriculture
Science Advances | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in Agriculture NewsOrganic agriculture is often proposed as a more sustainable alternative to current conventional agriculture. We assess the current understanding of the costs and benefits of organic agriculture across multiple production, environmental, producer, and consumer dimensions. Organic agriculture shows many potential benefits (including higher biodiversity and improved soil and water quality per unit area, enhanced profitability, and higher nutritional value) as well as many potential costs including lower yields and higher consumer prices.
Arkansas considers farm protection bill
Arkansas Legislature | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe Arkansas House passed HV 1665 67-10 to allow lawsuits against people who take unauthorized videos on commercial property.
Washington Senate's ‘use it or lose it’ water bill heads to House
Capital Press | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe House next week may take up a bill to ensure conservation doesn’t erode agricultural water rights.
USDA announces $6 million to aid fire-affected farmers and ranchers in Kansas
The Hutcheson News | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in Federal NewsThe U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that more than $6 million in funding is now available for those affected by the wildfires in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The funding, delivered through USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, will assist farmers and ranchers as they attempt to restore grazing lands, rehabilitate devastated landscapes, rebuild fencing and protect damaged watersheds, according to a news release.“The availability of USDA conservation funds targeted toward restoring land impacted by the fires is appreciated," said Sen.
China, EU cut imports of Brazil meat amid scandal
Reuters | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in Federal NewsChina and the European Union curtailed meat imports from Brazil on Monday after police, in an anti-corruption probe criticized by the government as alarmist, accused inspectors in the world's biggest exporter of beef and poultry of taking bribes to allow sales of rotten and salmonella-tainted meats.
Tribal members and farm workers would get boost from federal and Oregon legislation
Statesman Journal | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThis is shaping up to be a good week for Oregon tribal members and farm workers desperate for safe and decent housing. On Tuesday, bipartisan legislation designed to improve and increase housing for farm workers was approved by the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee.The measure, Senate Bill 1, would create a personal income or corporation tax credit for farmers' operating costs of housing for agricultural workers.
First U.S. bumble bee added to endangered species list
Reuters | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in Federal NewsThe rusty patched bumble bee became the first wild bee in the continental United States to gain federal protection on Tuesday when it was added to the government's list of endangered and threatened species. The bee, once widely found in the upper Midwest and Northeastern United States, was listed after U.S. President Donald Trump's administration lifted a hold it had placed on a plan for federal protections proposed last fall by the administration of former President Barack Obama.
Trump Applauds Farmers in Ag Day Proclamation
Ag Web | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in Federal News“America's farmers and ranchers help feed the world, fuel our Nation's economy, and lead global markets in output and productivity. The efficiency of American agriculture has provided this country with abundance our ancestors could not have imagined.” So begins President Donald Trump’s announcement today that proclaims March 21, 2017 as National Agriculture Day.The proclamation applauds our nation’s farmers as “endlessly innovative,” as well as being determined, self-reliant and a critical component to the nation’s future.