AgClips
Recent AgClips
Carl Corey's Americaville
Daily Yonder | Posted onJanuary 27, 2017 in Rural NewsAfter a couple decades as a commercial photographer, Carl Corey made a pivot to and started shooting personal pictures in a more observational style. His latest project, Americaville, is a quiet saunter across the Great Plains to the Midwest, where Corey now lives. I talked via email to Carl about his work in small towns.
EPA Freezes Grants, Tells Employees Not To Talk About It, Sources Say
Huffington Post | Posted onJanuary 27, 2017 in Federal NewsThe Environmental Protection Agency has frozen its grant programs, according to sources there.EPA staff has been instructed to freeze all its grants ― an extensive program that includes funding for research, redevelopment of former industrial sites, air quality monitoring and education, among other things ― and told not to discuss this order with anyone outside the agency, according to a Hill source with knowledge of the situation.
Massachusetts working on improving access to fresh food
The Recorder | Posted onJanuary 27, 2017 in Food NewsRather than allow a 416-page state plan released in December 2015 to rot on a shelf, a Greenfield-based collaborative has been working to have it seed a bold future for farming and food accessibility in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Food System Collaborative is working to promote, monitor and facilitate implementation of the plan, one that was written for and accepted by a state’s Food Policy Council, says collaborative Director Winton Pitcoff.
Management crisis expected for Canada’s dairy, poultry, and egg farms
Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council | Posted onJanuary 27, 2017 in Agriculture NewsThe single biggest labour challenge for the dairy, poultry and egg commodities will be finding skilled and experienced farm managers, including owner-operators. For these commodities, management and ownership jobs account for almost two-thirds of the current workforce, and between now and 2025, they will account for the majority of the jobs going unfilled due to a lack of domestic workers.
Lawmakers vote to make N.J. first state to ban cat declawing
NJ.com | Posted onJanuary 26, 2017 in Rural NewsThe state Assembly Monday voted to make New Jersey the first state in the nation to penalize veterinarians who declaw cats. Under the proposal, onychetomy -- the medical term for declawing -- would be added to the list of criminal animal cruelty offenses. The Assembly approved the measure by a vote of 43-10 with 12 abstentions. There was no floor debate on the bill. Some veterinarians have objected to the ban, saying the procedure has evolved in recent years to be less invasive. They also argue the ban may discourage adoptions. "We are not pro-declaw, we are anti-euthanasia.
Struggling U.S. farm sector faces new threat as TPP dies
Reuters | Posted onJanuary 26, 2017 in Federal NewsU.S. President Donald Trump's decision to back out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, a $62 billion market for U.S. farmers, provides a fresh threat to a slumping agricultural economy that has grown increasingly dependent on exports. Agricultural groups expressed disappointment over the move and urged the new administration to find alternative ways to boost product shipments to Asian countries. Trump announced the cancellation on Monday, quickly fulfilling a campaign promise.
Company pulls the plug on Illinois hog plant
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onJanuary 26, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA west-central Illinois company has withdrawn its notice of intent to build a 20,000-hog-capacity barn. Carthage, Ill.-based Professional Swine Management LLC withdrew its notice from the Illinois Department of Agriculture last week after meeting with the Fulton County Farm Bureau. Citing “sustained protests” from farmers complaining of potential river and stream pollution from waste at the site, the newspaper stated that Professional Swine Management, which provides comprehensive management to family-owned breed-to-wean and wean-to-finish pork facilities, withdrew its notice.
Ag coalition asks Trump to preserve NAFTA 'windfall'
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onJanuary 26, 2017 in Federal NewsMore than 130 agricultural trade groups and companies have sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in a way that expands on gains it helped the sector achieve.
Trump Withdraws U.S. From Trans-Pacific Partnership
Growing Produce | Posted onJanuary 26, 2017 in Federal Newsone of his first moves as President, Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). By signing the order, President Trump says he seeks to negotiate trade deals with individual countries.
Farm near Fukushima nuke plant ships milk again for public sale
South China Morning Post | Posted onJanuary 26, 2017 in Food NewsA dairy farm near the disaster-struck Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan began shipping raw milk again. It was the first milk shipped for processing and public sale from an area previously designated for evacuation following the March 2011 nuclear disaster at the seaside plant in Fukushima Prefecture, according to the prefectural government. Milk produced at the farm in the Naraha district had been checked for radioactive cesium every week from last May to December, with no reading ever surpassing the government-set limit of 50 becquerels per kilogram.