AgClips
Recent AgClips
Mysterious ‘zombie bee’ scourge reaches southern U.S.
Capital Press | Posted onJune 27, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe mysterious “zombie bee” parasite that kills honeybees has reached the southern United States after scientists confirmed a case in Virginia about an hour outside Roanoke, researchers announced this week. The discovery suggests the phenomenon is more widespread than previously thought, although researchers still know little about how many bees it actually kills. Flies attach themselves to the bees and inject their eggs, causing erratic “zombie-like” behavior in the bees such as flying at night and toward light. The bees often die within hours.
Washington Ecology to write guide to ‘best’ ag practices
Capital Press | Posted onJune 27, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe Washington Department of Ecology will develop voluntary “best management practices” for agricultural activities, responding to what federal regulators say is a shortcoming in the state’s plan to protect waterways. The Environmental Protection Agency last year demanded Ecology undertake the initiative to continue to qualify for federal funding for water-quality projects. The EPA, along with conservation groups and tribes, accused the state of being too vague about how it will prevent pollution from agriculture.
orth Dakota panel approves proposed $153 million wind farm
Bismarck Tribune | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Energy NewsNorth Dakota's Public Service Commission has approved a proposed $153 million wind farm and associated electric transmission line in Oliver and Morton counties.
Illinois Exelon officials to retire nuclear plant
Pantagraph | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Energy NewsOfficials with Exelon have notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of plans to close the Clinton Nuclear Plant in 2017, marking the first of several procedural notifications Exelon will make in the coming months to inform regulators, grid operators and state agencies of the plant's retirement. The notification is required by federal law. The planned closure of the Quad Cities plant in 2018 also was formally documented with the NRC. Decisions on capital improvements and planning for an outage to refuel the Clinton plant in 2017 are being weighed in light of the pending closure.
State ponders huge conservation buy
apalachtimes | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Rural NewsThe state has blessed investigating the acquisition of 17,000 acres in eastern Franklin County for a conservation area. The land proposed for conservation passed its first review by the Florida Acquisition and Restoration Council, which will now order environmental surveys of the area. The land is owned by the Ochlocknee Timberlands LLC, a holding of the Mormon Church.
$48 million in government grants to help western farmers amid drought and climate change
My News 4 | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Federal NewsThe Obama administration is announcing $48 million in grants to help farmers and others in the west conserve water and energy amid drought and climate change. The agriculture department says the effort will include 76 projects in at least 11 western states, which includes Nevada. But drought grants are not new to Nevada farmers. Nevada farmers have been able to receive grants over the past few years to help keep their farms from drying up. Rick Lattin of Lattin Farms in Fallon Nevada hopes these new grants can help restore the agricultural landscape.
Farm Bureau Asks Congress to Save Rangelands, Control Wild Horse and Burro Population
Farm Bureau | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Rural NewsCongress must act quickly to keep fast-growing herds of feral horses and burros from further damaging the environment of the western United States, the American Farm Bureau Federation said today. At current rates, AFBF said, their already excessive numbers will double in a mere four years. Callie Hendrickson, chair of AFBF’s Federal Lands Issue Advisory Committee, testified before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
Crop Insurance Gives Farmers More Planting Flexibility
USDA | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Federal NewsActing Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Michael Scuse today announced that the federal crop insurance program will provide additional flexibility to farmers. The modifications center on the practice of growing two crops on the same field at different times of the year, which is known as double cropping. This change will address both land added to an operation, and account for multiple crop rotations. These changes will be in effective for the 2017 crop year for most crops, starting with winter wheat.
Senators agree on gmo labeling deal
St Louis Post Dispatch | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Federal NewsSenators have a bipartisan deal to require labeling of genetically modified ingredients nationally, a week before a labeling law in Vermont goes into effect. The deal announced Thursday by the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee would require the nationwide labeling of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, in packaged foods for the first time. But it would be more lenient than Vermont's law, allowing food companies to use a text label, a symbol or electronic label accessed by smartphone.
Agriculture will be affected by Britain's brexit vote
UK Farmers Weekly | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Agriculture NewsFor more than 40 years, UK farmers have relied on subsidies from the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) and significant export markets in Europe with free access to 500 million consumers. But the dramatic outcome of the referendum has created huge uncertainty about the future of farm support, regulation and access to the single market and migrant labour, which UK agriculture heavily depends on. Polls carried out by Farmers Weekly have consistently shown strong farmer support for the “leave” campaign.