Agriculture News
DowDuPont opens ag biotech innovation center
Feedstufs | Posted on February 12, 2018The Agriculture Division of DowDuPont announced the grand opening of the Bay Area Innovation Center (BAIC) in California, a newly expanded, state-of-the-art research and development (R&D) facility focused on agricultural biotechnology discovery, enabling technology development and leading-edge informatics. Consisting of 60,000 sq. ft. of laboratories, 13,000 sq. ft. of greenhouses and 25,000 sq. ft. of office space, the BAIC will be home to more than 100 highly skilled scientists dedicated to furthering innovation in agriculture.
Virginia farm's 'Resist White Supremacy' sign goes viral
Fox News | Posted on February 12, 2018A sign outside a Centreville, Va. farm has gone viral, after the family-owned business posted a photo of the message board, which reads "Resist White Supremacy." Cox Farms on Braddock Road normally uses their sign to featured produce advertisements, as well as witty words and aphorisms to visitors and passersby.In the continuing conversation on KKK and white supremacy, the farm owners say that the message is not political, but one as "concerned citizens of this country."
Health insurance is a make-or-break issue for farmers
Politico | Posted on February 12, 2018Almost two thirds of commercial farmers say the cost of health insurance poses the biggest threat to their livelihoods — bigger even than land costs or market pressures, according to a new study. Most farmers viewed insurance as a must-have in a dangerous occupation where a single accident could be catastrophic. But the study found that while most went to great lengths to get insurance, they cobbled it together with great difficulty.“We really would love it if we didn’t have to worry about me having a full-time job for insurance so that we could just farm and ranch,” one rancher who commuted to a full-time job 45 minutes away told researchers. "You’d get more done so you’re not doing everything in the dark at 11 o’clock at night. I’m a believer that my family would have been a little better off if I was just working part time.” Thirty-eight percent of farmers surveyed rely on public health insurance plans including Medicaid, CHIP and Medicare.
Congress outlines details of dairy, cotton provisions in budget deal
Politico | Posted on February 12, 2018The budget deal unveiled by congressional leaders late Wednesday would authorize more than $1 billion in spending on farm bill programs for dairy farmers and $3 billion for cotton growers over the next decade. The cost of making seed cotton eligible for commodity supports, including Price Loss Coverage, would mostly be offset by eliminating other programs in the farm bill that specifically benefit cotton. The dairy provisions, which would make changes to the Margin Protection Program — such as lowering premiums for small- and medium-sized producers — would not be offset, however. The two-year budget agreement, H.R. 1892 (115), also includes $2.3 billion in ad hoc disaster funding for farmers and ranchers from California to Florida who suffered losses as a result of wildfires and hurricanes last year.The spending package would make changes to USDA disaster programs, as well. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) secured a provision to remove a $125,000 cap on payments to producers under the Livestock Indemnity Program and to expand it to cover animals sold at a lower price in the event of a natural disaster. Under current law, only mortality is covered. The changes would be retroactive to 2017. A $20 million annual cap on the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-Raised Fish program also would be lifted.
Michigan farmer captures the heartbreak over her dairy’s closure
Ag Daily | Posted on February 9, 2018When Julie Alexander said “I do” 31 years ago to a dairy farmer, she had no idea the experiences they would have and the memories they would make on their Michigan operation, Na-Lar Farm. Forty years after the dairy farm started, she had no idea the response her thoughts on the family’s exit from the industry would garner on social media. Alexander posted, to her husband, Jeff’s, initial chagrin, her thoughts as the cattle trucks left their yard one last time and their days as a dairy family ended. She recounted the rewards and challenges of their life on the dairy farm that struck a chord online with those familiar with life on a farm, and those who are not.“I worked extensively at creating that to make sure my message was what I wanted it to be,” she said. “Something that would offer not only insight but a better understanding for those not involved in agriculture.”
Holstein USA has full hour show on RFD-TV
Holstein USA | Posted on February 9, 2018Holstein Association USA pays tribute to dairy farmers from coast to coast during the premiere episode of Holstein America. The hour-long program, sponsored by Merck Animal Health, shines a spotlight on the nation’s Holstein producers — from California’s lush central valley to the fall treetops of Vermont.
Farmed Seafood and Livestock Stack Up Differently Using Alternate Feed Efficiency Measure
Center for a Livable Future | Posted on February 8, 2018A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for a Livable Future found that, contrary to widely held assumptions, farmed fish and shrimp convert protein and calories in feed to edible seafood at rates similar to livestock (i.e., cattle, pigs, and chickens). The study contributes new insights into what is known as feed conversion efficiency – that is, the efficiency of the process by which feed is turned into meat – across species, and uses a new analysis to assess this efficiency. Researchers found that average protein and calorie retention across nine types of farmed fish and shrimp are lower than chickens and similar to pig and cattle production. They estimate that 19 percent of protein and 10 percent of calories in feed for aquatic species are ultimately made available in the human food supply. The similarity to livestock when using these efficiency measures is the opposite of the expected result based on weight-based feed conversion ratios. Comparing all terrestrial and aquatic animals in the study, chickens are most efficient for protein retention, followed by Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, whiteleg shrimp and pigs.
The USDA predicts a 12 year low in farm profits
Pacific Standard | Posted on February 8, 2018Lackluster crop prices and signs of stress for agriculture have continued in 2018, as the United States Department of Agriculture predicts net U.S. farm profits to hit a 12-year low, according to a new report. The first USDA Farm Income Forecast of 2018, released on Wednesday, predicts a 6.7 percent decline in net farm income, in addition to the lowest average of net cash farm income since 2011. The 2018 net farm income is predicted to reach $59.5 billion, a $4.3 billion decrease from 2017. That figure would mark the lowest since 2006, and a 50-plus percent decrease from the 2013 net income of $123.8 billion.
Amid Low Prices For Farmers, Agri-Mark Sends Suicide Hotline Info With Milk Checks
Maine Public | Posted on February 8, 2018For dairy farms in New England, the outlook for milk prices is not good this year. The stress has been tied to suicides among dairy farmers. One effort to get them help is sparking some criticism.Will Rogers and his girlfriend, Heather, run a 75-cow dairy farm in Warren, Massachusetts. It's just the two of them, and sometimes, short-term, part-time workers."Other than that, it's seven days, 365, 14, 16 hours a day that we're at it," Rogers said."Financially, mentally, physically -- [it's] very very draining," he said. Rogers said it was all the more draining on Monday, when he opened his twice-monthly check from Agri-Mark, his milk co-op, which also owns the Cabot Creamery cheese company."You know, you got a milk check that ain't worth much of nothing," he said.That check comes with a letter. This week, it was all about the stresses on farm families, and contained a list of suicide and mental health hotlines.
Court sides with Humane Society in pork case
The Fence Post | Posted on February 7, 2018The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today ruled that the National Pork Board must cease further payments to the National Pork Producers Council for purchase of the slogan, "Pork: The Other White Meat," but did not agree with all the plaintiffs' arguments in the case. The case had been filed by the Humane Society of the United States, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, and Harvey Dillenburg, an independent pig farmer, against the Agriculture Department, which oversees checkoff programs.