AgClips
Recent AgClips
Food insecure households decline
USDA | Posted onSeptember 7, 2016 in Food NewsThe estimated percentage of U.S. households that were food insecure in 2015 declined significantly from 2014, to 12.7 percent, continuing a downward trend in food insecurity from a high of 14.9 percent in 2011. The 2015 prevalence of food insecurity was still above the 2007 prerecessionary level of 11.1 percent. In 2015, the percentage of households with food insecurity in the severe range—very low food security—also declined significantly. • In 2015, 87.3 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the year.
CRISPR- Modified corn by DuPont may soon de ready for market
Popular Science | Posted onSeptember 7, 2016 in Agriculture NewsResearchers at DuPont Pioneer have published a study about a strain of corn engineered with CRISPR to be more resistant to drought. Once it receives government approval, this could soon be the first-ever CRISPR-modified crop to go on sale. In this study, the DuPont engineers didn’t use CRISPR to alter maize’s DNA per se; instead, they changed how one single gene is expressed.
Fire breaks out at threatened USDA facility
Meatingplace (registration required) | Posted onSeptember 7, 2016 in Federal NewsA fire broke out Tuesday at a USDA facility in Beltsville, Md., which was one of five offices closed then reopened last week after anonymous emailed threats. USDA issued the following statement: "A fire occurred this morning in a storage shed building at USDA’s Beltsville facility. The fire has been contained, and no personnel were harmed. The building involved houses equipment only, and employees in a neighboring building have been safely evacuated.
Judge orders JBS execs to step away from corporate roles
Meatingplace (registration required) | Posted onSeptember 7, 2016 in Food NewsJBS's CEO Wesley Batista and chairman Joesley Batista were ordered by a Brazilian judge to step away from executive positions in their companies.
Mexico agriculture minister to visit NMSU, sign agreement
Las Cruces Sun News | Posted onSeptember 7, 2016 in Agriculture NewsJosé Eduardo Calzada Rovirosa, a New Mexico State University graduate and minister of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food, will visit the New Mexico State University campus Sept.
Pesticide use in corn and soybeans
Science Advances | Posted onSeptember 7, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe widespread adoption of genetically engineered (GE) crops has clearly led to changes in pesticide use, but the nature and extent of these impacts remain open questions. We study this issue with a unique, large, and representative sample of plot-level choices made by U.S. maize and soybean farmers from 1998 to 2011.
Child asks for ‘cow giving birth’ birthday cake
The Telegraph | Posted onSeptember 5, 2016 in Rural News“For the last couple of months, Benz has been asking for a ‘cow having a calf’ cake for his birthday. “We tried our best to persuade him, in fact I overheard Tyler say to Benz, ‘a Thomas the Train cake would be cool.. Would you like Mom to make one for your birthday?’. To which he replied, ‘I don't even watch Thomas the train’. We tried. “So there I sat, Google imaging "cow having a calf cake" and guess what, there were zero results, surprise, surprise!
Oklahoma governor declares emergency after quake
AP | Posted onSeptember 5, 2016 in Rural NewsOklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has declared a state of emergency in Pawnee County after a magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck northwest of Pawnee. The earthquake struck at 7:02 a.m. Saturday and was felt throughout the Midwestern United States, although no severe damage or serious injuries were reported. The quake ties a 2011 earthquake for the strongest earthquake in recorded state history.
USDA grant to help create Rural Venture Accelerator
Globe Gazette | Posted onSeptember 5, 2016 in Rural NewsThe Iowa Foundation for Microenterprise and Community Vitality (Iowa Microloan) has received a $99,000 USDA Rural Business Development Grant to develop a Rural Ventures Accelerator program in partnership with Ag Ventures Alliance, based in Mason City, and Iowa State University. The program seeks to develop a collaboration that provides targeted business and development with technical assistance to “assist strategic rural ventures and smaller rural communities that may not have the capacity and local networks that larger communities possess."
Kansas panel tightens fracking waste limits in effort to prevent earthquakes
The Wichita Eagle | Posted onSeptember 5, 2016 in Energy NewsIn its continuing effort to settle the shaky ground, a divided Kansas Corporation Commission on Tuesday expanded restrictions on underground injection of oilfield wastewater linked to the spate of earthquakes over the past four years. The new rules put stricter limits on the volume of wastewater that can be dumped down disposal wells around the most seismically sensitive areas of Harper and Sumner counties. Tuesday’s order also expands the area where underground disposal is restricted.