AgClips
Recent AgClips
Industry-led effort commits $1B to curb plastic pollution
Houston Chronicle | Posted onJanuary 17, 2019 in Energy NewsWith more plastics piling into rivers and oceans, several of the world's biggest plastic chemical manufacturers are joining together in an industry-led effort to curb plastic waste. A group of nearly 30 global companies have committed more than $1 billion into developing programs and technologies to better minimize, manage and prevent plastic waste.
Several Florida Imperiled Species No Longer Warrant Listing, Including Suwannee Alligator Snapping Turtle
Space Coast Daily | Posted onJanuary 17, 2019 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission completed the final step in reevaluating five Species of Special Concern, one of six key objectives outlined in Florida’s Imperiled Species Management Plan. s a result, several fish and wildlife species no longer warrant listing.Based on a thorough scientific review, the FWC determined the harlequin darter, Homosassa shrew, southern fox squirrel and the Monroe County osprey population no longer warrant listing as Species of Special Concern.Through the process, FWC biologists and partners agreed that Florida has three distinct species of
New Pork Board Research Reveals How Americans Are Eating Tonight
Pork | Posted onJanuary 17, 2019 in Food NewsToday, the National Pork Board released the first report from its ambitious and comprehensive Insight to Action research program. The report, Dinner at Home in America, examines the contextual occasions in which Americans are eating dinner in the home. The research identifies areas of growth opportunity for pork, serving up a bold new challenge to the pork industry: innovate or risk losing relevance with today’s – and more importantly tomorrow’s –consumer.
Industry wary of alternatives tries to protect a word: meat
WREG | Posted onJanuary 17, 2019 in Food, SARL Members and Alumni NewsMore than four months after Missouri became the first U.S. state to regulate the term “meat” on product labels, Nebraska’s powerful farm groups are pushing for similar protection from veggie burgers, tofu dogs and other items that look and taste like real meat.
Restaurant chains reject criticism leveled in animal welfare report
Meating Place (free registration required) | Posted onJanuary 17, 2019 in Agriculture NewsNando’s and Subway have refuted criticism leveled a them and six other food brands by World Animal Protection (WAP), a UK-based animal welfare activist organization.
Maryland Public Service Commission authorizes utilities to install 5,000 electric vehicle charging stations statewide
The Baltimore Sun | Posted onJanuary 17, 2019 in Energy, SARL Members and Alumni NewsMaryland’s utility companies on Monday won state approval to install a network of more than 5,000 electric vehicle charging stations — fewer than they had hoped for, but a step toward the state’s ambitious goal of 300,000 electric vehicles on the streets by 2025. The Maryland Public Service Commission authorized BGE, Potomac Electric Power Co., Delmarva Power and Potomac Edison Co. to move forward with a modified, five-year pilot program of residential, workplace and public charging stations, paid for mostly by ratepayers.
Oregon Legislature to consider laws protecting wine industry
Capital Press | Posted onJanuary 17, 2019 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsOregon lawmakers will consider several proposals during the 2019 Legislature to protect the state's $5.6 billion wine industry, including a measure aimed at preventing out-of-state winemakers from hijacking the names and reputations of certain growing areas. The issue stems from a dispute last year between several Willamette Valley wineries and Copper Cane LLC, a California wine producer that purchases grapes from about 50 Oregon vineyards to make Pinot noir and rosé.
Big winners in Trump rollback of wetlands rules? Developers
AP News | Posted onJanuary 17, 2019 in Federal NewsPresident Donald Trump pointed to farmers Monday as winners from the administration’s proposed rollback of federal protections for wetlands and waterways across the country, describing farmers crying in gratitude when he ordered the change. But under long-standing federal law and rules, farmers and farmland already are exempt from most of the regulatory hurdles on behalf of wetlands that the Trump administration is targeting.
Iowa ethanol plants continue record production
The Daily Reporter | Posted onJanuary 17, 2019 in Energy NewsIowa’s ethanol industry continues it’s streak of breaking annual production records as ethanol plants in the state produced 4.35 billion gallons of ethanol in 2018. Up from 4.2 billion in 2017, the production is just shy of the 4.5 billion gallon capacity of Iowa’s ethanol producers, which is expected to make up approximately 27 percent of all production nationally. Officials with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association said the achievement came during a difficult year and is a sign of strength.
Ag gag laws: Why barricading the barn door doesn't help agriculture
Des Moines Register | Posted onJanuary 17, 2019 in Agriculture NewsThis week’s ruling by a federal judge striking down Iowa’s “ag-gag” law, which essentially bans undercover activity in agriculture, may cause angst in the agriculture community, but it also presents an opportunity. The use of undercover video investigations is a strategy employed by animal welfare groups to bring public attention to their cause and influence farm and food company animal-care policies. The videos often show a farm worker appearing to commit animal abuse or mistreatment. Sometimes they are legitimate and sometimes not.