Agriculture News
NY farmers cite $1B drop in farm production value
Wayne Post | Posted on February 7, 2017When the New York Farm Bureau released its 2017 priorities last week, the state's largest agricultural lobbying/trade organization painted a dire picture. New numbers just released by National Agricultural Statistics Service show the value of farm production in New York dropped by $1 billion in 2015 to $5.33 billion, NYFB stated in announcing its annual lobbying agenda. "That is a significant loss in farm income, and anecdotally Farm Bureau members are saying that farm income will likely drop even further when 2016 numbers are released," NYFB stated.
5 ways to fight back against animal activist groups
Watt Ag Net | Posted on February 7, 2017Animal rights groups want to destroy animal agriculture, and the industry needs to be proactive to protect its future. Animal rights activists have changed their tune and their tactics to seem more mainstream and moderate in recent years, but their objective remains the same. Thompson-Weeman said the goal is dismantling animal agriculture by discouraging consumers to buy meat and farmers to raise animals. Those who doubt the credibility and prowess of the activists groups should look no further than the cage-free movement spurring chaos in the US egg industry. Activist groups are also involved in the push for antibiotic-free production and the emerging slower growing broiler movement. Poultry is a favorite target for activist groups, Thompson-Weeman said, because of its prominent position in the global diet. Activist groups use four main tactics to advance their agenda: direct pressure on retailers and restaurants; trespassing and breaking into facilities to shoot images and videos; targeting youth and college students through animal-rights focused education programs and using religious organizations to legitimize animal rights doctrine.
Super Bowl ad skewers Humane Society
Washington Examiner | Posted on February 7, 2017A HumaneWatch.org ad airing moments before Super Bowl kickoff ripped the Humane Society of the United States, mocking the group's emotional ads often featuring sickly animals in shelters. "Every day thousands of lawyers and lobbyists around the country find themselves out of work and unemployed," a woman says to scenes of lawyers in cages. These lawyers don't have a vacation home," the ad continues. "For just $19 a month you can join the Humane Society of the United States in our fight to hire more lawyers. People often think we run pet shelters but that simply isn't true. We don't run a single one."
Senate OKs bill allowing warrantless inspections of farms
The Washington Post | Posted on February 6, 2017A bill approved by the Senate would allow state inspectors to carry out warrantless inspections of hundreds of Virginia produce farms to ensure compliance with federal regulations. “It’s one of those bills you don’t like, but someone’s got to carry it,” said the legislation’s sponsor, Sen. Richard Stuart, R-Westmoreland County. He said that if the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services doesn’t conduct the inspections, “then the federal government will come in and do it for us.” But some farming representatives argued that the inspections would violate their constitutional rights. “If the government has free access to your property, that’s in violation of the Fourth Amendment,” Richard Altice of the Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association told legislators. “You are mandated to kill this bill.”
Lenders expect financial stress to worsen for farmers, ranchers
High Plains Journal | Posted on February 4, 2017According to a recent study of lenders, financial stress on farmers is expected to continue for some time. “Our research indicates a continued deterioration in agricultural credit conditions,” said Allen Featherstone, head of the Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics. The 2016 Fall Agricultural Lender Survey by the Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics and the University of Georgia studies the expectations of lenders in regard to interest rates, spread over cost of funds, farm-loan volume, nonperforming loans and land values as indicators of the overall health of the farm finance sector. According to the twice-a-year study, more than 50 percent of land values are decreasing within the areas covered by participating lenders. These values are set to continue to decrease over the short- and long term and are affecting credit limits for landowners and producers. Non-performing loans are also on the rise for all loan types, and expectations show the number of these loans will continue to increase in this stressed financial market.
Dispelling myths about pig farms and pork
Watt Ag Net | Posted on February 4, 2017Use analogies. Most people don’t raise pigs, especially not at a commercial scale, so they have little familiarity with farming activities or concepts. Using analogies can help people understand what goes on at a modern pig farm or pork processing plant. Let people see and touch. As with analogies, explaining complex topics can be easier using models that people can touch and interact with.
Minnesota farmers want state aid, more in policy than money
Southern Minnesota | Posted on February 4, 2017Executive Director Perry Assness, of AgriGrowth, an organization that brings farmers together with agri-businesses and others, said the state sometimes is technologically behind. While many agri-businesses use advanced technology, state regulations may not have caught up, he said. Lunemann said it is not just state regulations that keep farmers down. South Dakota, he said, does more to recruit farm-related businesses. The governor will visit backers of prospective dairy operations. “The common theme is don’t tax us or regulate us out of business,” Rep. Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake, said he hears from constituents.As far as taxes go, there appears to be an agreement among most legislative leaders and the governor to pass the tax break that died last year when an overall tax bill failed to become law. The provision would reduce the amount of property taxes assessed on farmland for new school construction. Rural schools complained that they struggled to pass new school plans because the funding burden fell so heavily on farmers. So while districts dominated by cities could pass school votes, that was more difficult in rural areas.
Hawaii: council repeals GMO law
The Garden Island | Posted on February 4, 2017Kauai’s pesticide legislation, Ordinance 960, was repealed through the approval of Bill 2643 upon second reading during a Kauai County Council meeting. “I’m glad it’s over,” said Councilman Mel Rapozo, who introduced Bill 2643. “We needed to move forward and start the healing process and this is the first step.” Kauai Councilman Arthur Brun recused himself from voting because he works for Syngenta. Ordinance 960, formerly Bill 2491, was passed in November 2013 and set out requirements for large-scale agricultural operations to disclose the use of pesticides and genetically-modified crops. It also required buffer zones around sensitive areas like schools and hospitals.
Attempts to discredit genetically modified crops and the herbicide glyphosate have no scientific basis
National Review | Posted on February 4, 2017Humans have been tinkering with plant genetics far longer than they have understood the mechanisms that allow their actions. But genetic engineering as understood today involves the delicate in vitro process of inserting, removing, or altering genes to create a favorable trait. It can be used to guard food crops from premature spoilage, confer drought resistance, and, perhaps most controversially, allow for the survival of applications of weed killer. But today, genetically modified produce and glyphosate face uncertainty from every angle. Despite White House recognition of the “broad consensus that foods from genetically engineered crops are safe,” pandering to unscientific misgivings suggests that foods containing GMs are something to be avoided. In truth, glyphosate has been subjected to extensive toxicological review in the decades since its creation. Data from over 300 independent studies consistently fail to implicate glyphosate as a danger to human development, reproduction, hormone regulation, or immunological or neurological functioning.
Science supports GMO feeds to enhance ‘sustainable’ farming
Tribune Chronicle | Posted on February 4, 2017We find the word “sustainable” used to describe certain agricultural practices. Problem is, various groups use it in different ways and there doesn’t seem to be agreement about what it means. Recently, Dannon Yogurt, a French-based company, came up with its own definition of the word. They decided to adopt a policy that they would only use milk produced from feeds that are “non-GMO,” that is, feeds that are not made from genetically modified organisms. They believe this will “help improve sustainable agricultural practices” by improving soil health, water quality and reduce carbon emissions. This prompted a quick response from six prominent farm organizations. They included the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Growers Association, Nation Corn Growers Association, National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance. In a letter to Dannon, they said that eliminating GMO feeds is the exact opposite of sustainable agriculture. They pointed out that eliminating GMOs would cause farmers to stop using safe farming practices that have increased farm productivity over the last 20 years and reduced the carbon footprint of our agriculture.