AgClips
Recent AgClips
USDA Report- Agricultural Conservation on Working Lands: Trends From 2004 to Present
Farm Policy News | Posted onJanuary 9, 2019 in Agriculture NewsThe USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) recently released a report title, “Agricultural Conservation on Working Lands: Trends From 2004 to Present.” A fact sheet that accompanied the report explained that, “The first step toward increasing adoption of conservation practices is to establish a baseline of current adoption rates;” and added that the report, “uses survey data to track U.S.
Studying how conservation tillage impacts water quality
Farm and Dairy | Posted onJanuary 9, 2019 in Agriculture NewsIn the early 1990s, Acton Lake in southwestern Ohio had a muddy problem. Large amounts of sediment from nearby farms were entering the lake’s watershed. These sediments traveled through streams draining the landscape and were filling up the lake. So, the USDA gave local farmers incentives to change some of their farming practices.One of these practices was conservation tillage, which can reduce sediment runoff. A new study examines how the switch to conservation tillage has impacted Acton Lake over the past decades.
What the Explosion of the Dollar Store Says About the State of Our Cities
Strong Towns | Posted onJanuary 9, 2019 in Rural NewsBut according to a new report from the Institute for Local Self Reliance, the dollar store model isn’t just another cheap place to pick up toilet paper. It’s a symptom of some of the most pernicious forms of neighborhood decline—and, ILSR argues, it’s actually speeding that decline in a race to extract the last traces of wealth from failing communities. In this episode of Upzoned, Chuck and Kea dig into ILSR’s findings, and talk about where they agree (and don’t) with the institute’s policy prescriptions that might help end the dollar store scourge.
Panel addresses ‘What’s Right About Kansas’
Hays Post | Posted onJanuary 9, 2019 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni News“That’s the thing about rural Kansas,” Corie Brown wrote. “No one lives there, not anymore.” The Los Angeles author’s assessment on rural Kansas in particular and Kansans in general was the outcome of an odyssey across the state for an online article published in April 2018. Its title, “Rural Kansas is Dying: I Drove 1,800 Miles to Find Out Why,” set the stage for her thesis.She interviewed farmers, university professors, politicians, local food system supporters and farm group leaders about the state’s rural population and community decline and what could be done to mitigate it.
Despite Huge Backlogs, The Government Shutdown Halts Most Immigration Court Hearings
NPR | Posted onJanuary 9, 2019 in Federal NewsThe federal government shutdown — caused in part by disagreements over immigration policy — is delaying immigration court hearings across the country. Court appointments scheduled during the shutdown will be "reset" to new dates in the future, per a notice from the Department of Justice dated Dec. 26. The only exception are courts operating in immigration detention centers, where federal immigration authorities hold immigrants pending deportation.
Questionable changes in how ag research in land-grant universities is funded
Ag Policy | Posted onJanuary 9, 2019 in Agriculture NewsWhile funding for agricultural commodity programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program captures most of the attention during the development of and wrangling over the budget for the farm bill, this column is focused on the funding for agricultural research that is primarily carried out through the Land-Grant University and College system. The Hatch Act of 1887 was approved by Congress to provide funding for the establishment of agricultural experiment stations by each of the state land-grant institutions. The initial focus was focused on soil fertility and plant growth.
29 states have minimum wages above the federal level
AP News | Posted onJanuary 9, 2019 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour has remained the same since 2009. Since then, 29 states and the District of Columbia have set minimum wages above the federal level. Twenty states have minimum wage increases taking effect around the start of the new year.
Roadkill studies aim to help animals cross the road
Daily Camera | Posted onJanuary 9, 2019 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni Newst's more a question of "Where did the chicken cross the road?" At least, that is the question state transportation and wildlife officials hope to answer when they compile and release stats on roadkill in an effort to make sure animals get to the other side.Every year, the Colorado Department of Transportation releases a report on the number, type and location of every animal that did not survive its foray onto the highway.
These species went extinct in 2018. More may be doomed to follow in 2019
USA Today | Posted onJanuary 9, 2019 in Rural NewsThey'd been on our planet for millions of years, but 2018 was the year several species officially vanished forever. Three bird species went extinct this year, scientists said, two of which are songbirds from northeastern Brazil: The Cryptic Treehunter (Cichlocolaptes mazarbarnetti) and Alagoas Foliage-gleaner (Philydor novaesi), according to a report from the conservation group BirdLife International. According to BirdLife, the other extinct bird is Hawaii's Po'ouli (Melamprosops phaeosoma), which has not been seen in the wild since 2004 (the same year the last captive bird died).
Farmers for Free Trade pushing for trade progress
Brownfield | Posted onJanuary 9, 2019 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe executive director of Farmers for Free Trade says he is hopeful farmers will see trade progress in the new year. Brian Kuehl says the recent trade truce with China is a start…“We’d like to see the trade war with China wrapped up,” he says. “We need to get back into the business of trading- China’s our biggest trading partner.”But, he tells Brownfield the tariffs on Canada and Mexico still need to be addressed.“We still have these steel tariffs in place which means they’re still retaliating against our agricultural products- cheese, pork, and processed foods,” he says.