SARL Members and Alumni News
Oklahoma agriculture board approves poultry farm proposals
The News Tribune | Posted on February 21, 2019The Oklahoma Board of Agriculture on Tuesday approved proposals for new or expanding poultry operations requiring them to be a certain distance away from homes and schools, but some eastern Oklahoma residents say the plan doesn't go far enough. The board voted 3-2 for the rules that include "setback" requirements that operations with fewer than 150,000 birds be at least 500 feet from homes and larger operations be at least 1,000 feet away. All operations must be at least 1,500 feet from schools.All operations must be 200 feet from streams, 100 feet from private wells and 500 feet from public wells.The proposal now goes to the Legislature and, if approved and signed by the governor, would go into effect in September.
Hawaii ‘Postcard From the Future’ for Renewables
Bloomberg | Posted on February 21, 2019Near Honolulu, researchers are testing how to generate electricity from the energy in ocean waves. And Hawaii’s largest electric utility is among the first to widely use advanced “smart” inverters to help manage the flow of electricity from rooftop solar panels into the power grid. Such projects help explain why Hawaii is becoming a laboratory for how to integrate wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy into an electric power grid—something the state must do in order to meet its first-in-the-nation goal to use only renewable electricity in the future.California approved a similar renewables mandate in 2018. But Hawaii is a lab for how to integrate renewable energy into the power grid because it already has the highest use of rooftop solar in the country and its power grids are small and completely isolated from one another, Andy Hoke, a senior engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, told Bloomberg Environment.The Hawaii Legislature passed a law in 2015 requiring the state to obtain all of its electric power from renewables by 2045—a goal California, New York, and other states have tried to emulate.
Decriminalizing marijuana aimed at reducing black incarceration rate, Gov. Tony Evers says
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Posted on February 21, 2019Allowing Wisconsin residents to smoke and sell small amounts of marijuana would reduce the disproportionate rate at which the state's black residents are arrested, Gov. Tony Evers argued. "People shouldn't be treated like criminals for accessing medicine that could change or maybe even save their lives," Evers said Monday at a news conference announcing his plan to legalize marijuana for medical reasons and decriminalize recreational use of small amounts of the plant. "But I also want to make this clear: This is not just about accessing health care," he said. "This is about connecting the dots between racial disparities and economic inequity."Evers cited the state's distinction of having the nation's highest incarceration rate among black men, time in prison that can result from police stops prompted by marijuana use.
States Consider ‘Surge Pricing’ for Power
Pew Trust | Posted on February 21, 2019Just as more people fly during the holidays and drive during rush hour, the demand for electricity peaks at predictable times. Flights and some toll roads cost the most when demand is highest. Now California wants residents to get used to the same dynamic when it comes to purchasing electricity.Starting in March, the state’s utility regulator will require major utilities to increase prices during the hours when electricity is in high demand and lower prices the rest of the time — a change that’s expected to affect some 6 million households.It’s Uber’s surge pricing, but for your light switch.Electricity might not feel like a hot commodity when you come home to an empty house at 5:30 p.m., but across California, millions of people also are returning from work, bumping down the thermostat a few degrees and throwing in a load of laundry before prepping dinner.All that demand at once forces utilities to ramp up production, typically turning on additional generators that rely on fossil fuels. That costs utilities more, and it releases more dirty emissions.
Oregon On-farm brewery bill hits snag over hop acreage
Capital Press | Posted on February 21, 2019Breweries would enjoy agritourism privileges similar to those of wineries and cideries on Oregon farmland under legislation that’s hit a snag over on-site hop acreage requirements. Lawmakers allowed wineries in Oregon to conduct certain commercial activities and special events in “exclusive farm use” zones in 2013, then extended similar rights to cideries in 2017.Senate Bill 287 would now allow on-farm breweries to also have tasting rooms for malt beverages and hold brewer’s lunches and dinners, among other promotional activities.“We’re simply asking that you do the same for beer,” said Matthew Merritt, general counsel for Rogue Ales and Spirits. “I think there are a number of breweries that want to do this but are afraid to.”The sticking point is that SB 287 ties these privileges at on-farm breweries to the size of adjacent hop yards, which don’t evenly correspond with vineyards or orchards.
Oklahoma sets new rules for chicken farm placements, expansions
Meating Place (free registration required) | Posted on February 20, 2019The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture approved new rules covering the locations of chicken farms relative to schools, homes and water sources, although the provisions will not affect current farms operating before October 2018. The new setback requirements call for chicken operations with fewer than 150,000 birds to be at least 500 feet from homes. Larger chicken farms must be established at least 1,000 feet away from houses. All chicken operations also now must be 500 feet from public wells, 100 feet from private wells and 200 feet from streams, officials said.
Missouri Court Holds Crop Dusting Not Inherently Dangerous Activity
Texas A&M | Posted on February 19, 2019A case out of Missouri, Keller Farms, Inc. v. Stewart, recently caught my attention as it addressed an interesting question, is crop dusting an “inherently dangerous activity?” This is an important question as the answer can greatly impact the potential liability of a landowner or producer hiring someone to apply pesticides. The reason is that a person is generally not liable for the acts of his or her independent contractor. An exception to that, however, is that a person may be liable for the acts of his or her independent contractor if the activity involved is deemed “inherently dangerous.” So, assume a sorghum farmer hired an aerial spray company, as an independent contractor, to spray for sugarcane aphids and drift occurred. If the activity is not inherently dangerous, the farmer is not liable. If the activity is inherently dangerous, the farmer can be liable for the pilot’s actions.
Gov. Tom Wolf proposes tax breaks, loans in new Pa. Farm Bill
Lehigh Valley Live | Posted on February 19, 2019The agriculture industry is facing a workforce shortage and Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration hopes to address it with the Pennsylvania Farm Bill, a proposal that is being described as historic. This multi-faceted $24 million package includes a variety of measures aimed at cultivating future generations of farmers and providing assistance to help new and beginning farmers. Lawmakers hailed the Farm Bill proposal as the first time in generations that agriculture was given some focused attention in a governor’s budget proposal. The package includes low-interest loans, grants, tax breaks and other measures to attract a new crop of farmers in Pennsylvania.Wolf said his administration doesn’t have all the answers to filling the nearly 75,000 job vacancies in the agriculture and food industries over the next 10 years. But he said engaging in a conversation with experts in the agricultural industry could produce some.
New Mexico Bill would provide San Juan College with $500,000 for renewable energy program
Farmington Daily Times | Posted on February 19, 2019San Juan College is getting attention in Santa Fe for its potential in training a renewable energy industry workforce. A bill introduced in the New Mexico House of Representatives would turn the college into a Center of Excellence for renewable energy. It would be one of four Centers of Excellence in the state. Each center would receive $500,000.Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has pushed to create the centers. Each would have its own focus. For example, New Mexico State University’s focus would be agriculture and University of New Mexico would focus on bioscience. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, the fourth center of excellence, would focus on cybersecurity.“I think we were selected based on our long history of working with our energy partners,” said San Juan College President Toni Pendergrass.Nora Sackett, a spokeswoman for the governor, said in an email statement that the college’s former renewable energy program was highly ranked and considered one of the best in the nation.
Land purchase paves way for Idaho Research Dairy
Feedstuffs | Posted on February 19, 2019A plan to create the nation’s largest research dairy advanced Feb. 14 with the Idaho State Board of Education’s vote to allow the University of Idaho to buy land for the $45 million project. The University of Idaho and Idaho dairy industry-led effort will create the Idaho Center for Agriculture Food & the Environment (CAFE). The project took a major step forward with the go-ahead to finalize purchase of land in Minidoka County near Rupert, Ida.The University of Idaho and the Idaho Dairymen’s Assn. (IDA) will jointly purchase 540 acres from members of the Whitesides family, who will in turn donate another parcel of land. The university will pay $2.5 million and IDA will pay $2 million toward the purchase