Agriculture News
Who Milks America’s Cows?
The Atlantic | Posted on July 5, 2018Buy a pound of cheese or a carton of milk in the U.S., and it most likely hails from Wisconsin, the number-one cheese and number-two milk producer in the country. Often, that Wisconsin dairy product comes from a cow that was milked by an undocumented immigrant. Nationwide, 51% of dairy workers are immigrants. According to workers, farmers, and industry experts, more than three-fourths of these immigrants are undocumented. As a result, farms with immigrant employees produce the vast majority—79%—of the American milk supply. Many farmers attribute the dearth of American-born dairy workers to a cultural shift in the way we view the agriculture industry. "When I was growing up, the people that worked on farms were sons and daughters of other farmers,” says John Rosenow, a dairy farm owner from Wisconsin, in Jim Cricchi’s short documentary, Los Lecheros. Like much of the state’s $43 billion-a-year dairy industry, Rosenow’s farm now relies heavily on immigrant labor.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue endorses work requirements for food assistance
The Spokesman-Review | Posted on July 5, 2018Congress is preparing to reconcile two versions of the farm bill, a sweeping piece of legislation renewed every five years that governs an array of agricultural and food assistance programs, including SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Once known as food stamps, SNAP helps nearly 44 million Americans – mostly children, working parents, the elderly and people with disabilities – afford a basic diet each month. While the Senate version of the farm bill would mostly leave SNAP intact through 2023, the House version, which was backed by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, would require able-bodied adults to work or participate in a training program for 20 hours a week to receive benefits, or risk being disqualified from SNAP for up to three years.
Honeybees finding it harder to eat at America's bee hot spot
ABC News | Posted on July 5, 2018A new federal study finds bees are having a much harder time finding food in America's last honeybee refuge. The country's hot spot for commercial beekeeping is the Northern Great Plains of the Dakotas and neighboring areas, where more than 1 million colonies spend their summer feasting on pollen and nectar from wildflowers and other plants. Clint Otto of the U.S. Geological Survey calculates that from 2006 to 2016, more than half the conservation land within a mile of bee colonies was converted into agriculture, usually row crops like soybeans and corn. Those don't feed bees.
Otto says bees that have a hard time finding food are less likely to survive the winter.
New suit against Mountaire includes wrongful death claim
Watt Ag Net | Posted on July 5, 2018A new lawsuit has been filed against Mountaire Farms concerning the poultry company’s wastewater and sludge contamination issues around its complex in Millsboro, Delaware, and included in that lawsuit is a wrongful death allegation.
EPA Wants Judgement in NY WOTUS Case
DTN | Posted on July 5, 2018The EPA is expected to ask a federal judge in New York to rule in its favor on a lawsuit challenging the delay of the 2015 waters of the United States, or WOTUS, rule, according to a document filed last week announcing plans to file for summary judgement. Attorneys general of 10 states and the District of Columbia sued the EPA in February, alleging the agency's final rule suspending the WOTUS rule is unlawful. A motion for summary judgement asks a court to rule on the merits of the case without a trial taking place. In addition, the states filed a prior similar motion, asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to rule in their favor. New York's attorney general is leading a coalition of 10 states and the District of Columbia in challenging the EPA's action. New York is joined by attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia. The Natural Resources Defense Council filed a similar lawsuit in the same court.
Administering hormones affects DNA
Science Daily | Posted on July 5, 2018In pigs, endocrine disruptors can alter gene expression in a way that also affects the next generation. The study findings could potentially apply to humans, too.
Canada launches retaliatory tariffs on U.S.
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on July 5, 2018Canada today announced it would make good on a threat of retaliatory tariffs on more than $12.6 billion worth of U.S. products, effective July 1. Among the casualties of Canada’s response to the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada is about $170 million worth of U.S. beef products.
Action needed against Direct Action Everywhere
Watt Ag Net | Posted on July 5, 2018When a person thinks of animal rights organizations, Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is typically not the first one that comes to mind.However, the group’s recent antics (let’s just go with that word for now) prove that it could very well be the most dangerous animal rights organization out there. With an above-the-law type of attitude, DxE seems to take pride in the fact that its members have been arrested for doing what it believes are justifiable crimes in order to prevent farm animals from, again for what it believes (is), suffering.
Country Fresh milk plant to close down in Livonia. MI
WXYZ | Posted on July 5, 2018The Country Fresh milk processing plant in Livonia is closing.More than 150 employees are set to be out of a job by the end of August, and many have been working there for years. The workers are members of UAW Local 174 and their president says it's because of Walmart is going into its own milk production.Country Fresh is owned by Dean Foods based in Texas. It is the second largest processor of fluid milk in the U.S. behind Nestle. Dean Foods is closing a total of seven similar plants in seven states including Kentucky, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Minnesota.
Scientists genetically engineer pigs immune to costly disease
The Guardian | Posted on July 5, 2018Scientists have genetically engineered pigs to be immune to one of the world’s most costly animal diseases, in an advance that could propel gene-editing technology into commercial farms within five years. The trial, led by the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, showed that the pigs were completely immune to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), a disease that is endemic across the globe and costs the European pig industry nearly £1.5bn in pig deaths and decreased productivity each year. Pigs infected with PRRS are safe to eat but the virus causes the animals breathing problems, causes deaths in piglets and can cause pregnant sows to lose their litter. There is no effective cure or vaccine, and despite extensive biosecurity measures about 30% of pigs in England are thought to be infected at any given time. After deleting a small section of DNA that leaves pigs vulnerable to the disease, the animals showed no symptoms or trace of infection when intentionally exposed to the virus and when housed for an extended period with infected siblings.