AgClips
Recent AgClips
Bills limiting broadband move forward in Missouri and Tennessee Legislatures
Daily Yonder | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsBroadband planners and supporters in Missouri and Tennessee say that legislative battles for publicly owned broadband have reached the tipping point this week. In Missouri, a bill that would prohibit municipalities from running broadband networks passed out of the State Senate Jobs, Economic Development, and Local Government Committee into the full Senate for debate. State Senator Ed Emery initiated Senate Bill 186 in January.
Milk Men Documentary Delivers
Daily Yonder | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in Agriculture NewsMilk Men: The Life and Times of Dairy Farmers: Simplistic notions about dairy farming melt like butter in a frying pan in Jan Haaken’s documentary “Milk Men.” The 2016 film allows viewers into the barns, businesses, and family rooms of a range of dairy farmers in the Pacific Northwest.
Veterans send letter Trump urging rule for ethanol and RFS in his energy plan
Biofuels Digest | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in Federal Newsmore than 120 military veterans working and investing in the ethanol industry sent a letter to President Trump last week, urging him to include a prominent role for ethanol and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in his “America First Energy Plan.” According to the letter, “many of us have witnessed firsthand the dangers of our reliance on oil imports from hostile and unstable parts of the world. We share your belief that the United States can and must do more to insulate itself from the negative impacts associated with oil import dependence and OPEC manipulation.
The Future of Food Production Will Look A Lot Like Brewing Beer
Fortune | Posted onMarch 22, 2017 in Food NewsThe latest new buzzword in food tech? Fermentation. And we’re not talking about the kimchi or kombucha kind. Rather, it’s a process increasingly used by food companies to answer a ballooning demand for natural ingredients that are hard to come by. Instead of sourcing these ingredients from nature, food scientists are creating them through an industrial method that they describe as similar to brewing beer. Here’s how it works: Scientists identify the desired genes in a plant or animal and insert them into a host such as yeast.
Cargill’s protein unit donates fencing to Kansas fire victims
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onMarch 21, 2017 in Rural NewsCargill Inc. said its Wichita, Kans.-based North American protein business is donating $50,000 in new fencing materials to ranchers who lost fences during last week’s fast-moving wildfire in western Kansas and two nearby states. The wildfires consumed more than 1,000 square miles of grazing land in rural Kansas, destroying an estimated 100,000 miles of ranch fencing in Kansas alone, Cargill noted in a news release. The company said the Kansas Livestock Association told officials that replacement fencing materials were needed more than anything else to rebuild what the fire destroyed.
OSHA notices disappear as Labor Dept. revamps under Trump
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onMarch 21, 2017 in Federal NewsThe Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has yet to issue any public notices of fines for violations so far this year, although officials told The New York Times that enforcement actions are still under way. OSHA has not posted any news releases covering rule enforcement fines on its website, a major shift from activity under the Obama administration, when the agency issued an average of about 460 news releases per year, the paper reported.
Five Bills To Benefit Racing Filed In Texas Legislature
Texas Thoroughbred Breeders Association | Posted onMarch 21, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe Texas Thoroughbred Association and Texas Horsemen’s Partnership are excited to report that five bills have been filed with the Texas Legislature that could benefit the Texas racing industry. Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R) filed three bills in the Senate: SB #1971 (Co-authored by Sen. Dawn Buckingham (R)) – Would create a purse matching fund from the state’s general revenue fund that is expected to increase purses by $25 million. Committee substitute language is expected to clarify specifics.
What makes farmers try new practices?
University of Illinois | Posted onMarch 21, 2017 in Agriculture NewsChange is never easy. But when it comes to adopting new agricultural practices, some farmers are easier to convince than others. A group of researchers at the University of Illinois wanted to know which farmers are most likely to adopt multifunctional perennial cropping systems—trees, shrubs, or grasses that simultaneously benefit the environment and generate high-value products that can be harvested for a profit.“We surveyed farmers in the Upper Sangamon River Watershed in Illinois to learn their attitudes about growing MPCs on marginal land.
On the Value of Ethanol in the Gasoline Blend
Farm Doc Daily | Posted onMarch 21, 2017 in Energy NewsThere has been much debate and much written about the likely costs and benefits of including ethanol in the domestic gasoline supply. Costs and benefits fall into two major categories--environmental and economic (e.g., Stock, 2015). One economic consideration is the potential impact on domestic gasoline prices from augmenting the gasoline supply with biofuels. A second economic consideration, and one that has received the most attention, is the cost of ethanol relative to petroleum-based fuel.
Ohio’s maple syrup (Infographic)
Farm and Dairy | Posted onMarch 21, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsWith 69 of Ohio’s 88 counties producing maple syrup, it’s easy to see that “liquid gold” is an important part of the state’s agriculture. The Ohio Maple Madness Driving Tour allows people to see just how maple syrup is made.