AgClips
Recent AgClips
EU regulators to rule on $130 billion Dow, DuPont deal by July 28
Reuters | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Agriculture NewsEU antitrust authorities will decide by July 28 whether to allow the $130 billion merger of U.S. chemical company Dow Chemical Co and its rival DuPont, one of several large agribusiness deals. The EU competition enforcer can approve the deal with or without concessions or it can open a full-scale investigation of about five months should it have serious concerns about the merger's impact on consumers and rivals.
Drought Killed 66 Million Trees in California
US News | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Rural NewsThe number of trees in California's Sierra Nevada forests killed by drought, a bark beetle epidemic and warmer temperatures has dramatically increased since last year, raising fears they will fuel catastrophic wildfires and endanger people's lives, officials said. Since 2010, an estimated 66 million trees have died in a six-county region of the central and southern Sierra hardest hit by the epidemic, the U.S. Forest Service said. Officials flying over the region captured images of dead patches that have turned a rust-colored red.
Ag not necessarily exempt from new labor rules
DTN | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Federal NewsAgriculture’s 24/7 workload poses special issues for payroll. Most farmers assume they are not required to pay overtime for any farm work performed by their employees, points out Paul Neiffer, a CPA with CliftonLarsonAllen in Yakima, Washington. But given the new rules imposed by the Department of Labor starting December 1, you need to carefully review that policy and the impact on your labor expense, he advises. The Department of Labor announced final regulations on new overtime rules May 18, greatly expanding who qualifies for overtime treatment.
Farm Bureau president says labor rights would disrupt NY agriculture
North Country Public Radio | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Agriculture NewsNew York's Farm Bureau announced this week it will fight to block bargaining rights for tens of thousands of agricultural workers. The group hopes to intervene in a court battle over the issue sparked by a labor dispute here in the North Country. Farm Bureau president Dean Norton argued farming is different from other industries that have unions and collective bargaining. "Mother Nature decides our schedule for us," Norton said on the public radio program Capital Pressroom. "When we have to get our crop in the ground, we may have only a certain window of time to get it in.
Bayer, Dupont join ag-tech investment boom to ease grain pain
Reuters | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsDupont and Bayer AG have teamed up to invest in a new fund that will back agricultural technology startups, becoming the latest companies to pile into the multibillion-dollar industry as farm profits shrink. The two chemical and seed companies along with venture capital firm Finistere Ventures and two others have launched a $15 million accelerator fund, called Radicle, that will back early-stage agricultural-tech companies. Of the $15 million, $6 million has been initially committed but the fund did not identify which companies would receive the monies.
No Puppy Left Behind
Boston Globe | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Rural NewsConsidering that dogs are already sleeping in their owners’ beds, shaping family vacations, and spending time in the workplace, it would seem their integration into human society is complete. But not quite. Like children before them, a growing number of dogs are being enrolled in enrichment programs — undergoing a formal education in a way once reserved for show dogs.
New institute tackles the mysteries of food allergies
Boston Globe | Posted onJune 24, 2016 in Food NewsFour mothers whose children have food allergies raised $10 million to get the project started.
Court strikes down Obama fracking rules for public lands
Reuters | Posted onJune 23, 2016 in Energy NewsA federal judge has struck down the Obama administration's rules for hydraulic fracturing on public lands, a victory for oil and gas producers and state regulators who opposed the rules as an egregious overreach. The ruling, which the White House vowed to appeal, halts the administration's efforts to address what it sees as safety concerns in the industry and reverses what producers had seen as a first step toward full federal regulation of all fracking activity. The U.S.
Plowing is polluting? Wheat farmer loses clean water case
Farm Futures | Posted onJune 23, 2016 in Agriculture NewsJudge Kimberly Mueller on June 10, 2016 in the U.S. Eastern District Court of California found that John Duarte, a nursery operator and wheat farmer, plowed wetlands, four to six inches deep, and therefore violated the Clean Water Act. The Judge found Mr. Duarte, by chiseling a pasture, discharged fill material into a water (vernal pool) of the United States. Get this! The Court wrote “In sum, soil is a pollutant.
Yellen: Recession Unlikely, but Long-Run Growth Could Be Slow
Wall Street Journal | Posted onJune 23, 2016 in Federal NewsFederal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said the chances of recession this year are “quite low” despite mounting worries that the U.S. could be heading toward a downturn after seven years of tepid economic expansion. Still, a clearly tentative Fed leader has a long list of factors she worries will hold growth to a modest pace in the months ahead. Output growth, hiring, business investment and corporate profits have stumbled or slowed in recent months, leaving the Fed unsure when it will raise short-term interest rates again. Fed officials next meet July 26-27. Ms.