AgClips
Recent AgClips
Planting seeds to conquer addiction: Woodrow Project residents maintain sobriety through farming
Cleveland.com | Posted onJanuary 2, 2019 in Rural NewsJacque Jones watched as an autumn breeze sent dozens of leaves to land between rows of red peppers and eggplants. Chickens clucked at her feet. "My life couldn't be much better," Jones said. Jones is one of eight women who live at the Woodrow Project recovery house and farm. The North Royalton recovery house and farm started in February as a way to provide stability and training to women in recovery, Woodrow Project executive director Erin Helms said."There's no treatment here," Helms said.
2018 Farm Bill: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Ag Policy | Posted onJanuary 2, 2019 in Federal NewsAs we began reading details from the recently passed 2018 Farm Bill, it reminded us of the old 1960s Spaghetti Western starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” except in this case no one is likely to end up with the gold. Let’s start with the good.The farm bill eliminates the long-standing prohibition against the growing of industrial hemp on US farms. In addition, the recently passed legislation increases the maximum number of acres that can be enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program from 24 million to 27 million acres.
IBM and Walmart suggest a way to achieve timely traceback of contaminated produce from farm to store
Ag Policy | Posted onJanuary 2, 2019 in Food NewsAnyone who walked through the produce section of their local grocery in the week before Thanksgiving could not help but be aware that all romaine lettuce and salad mixes that contained romaine lettuce had been removed from the shelves. The stores took this action in response to a November 20, 2018 warning from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that a multi-state outbreak of the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 (STEC) had been traced to the eating of romaine lettuce.
Lieutenant Governor-elect Lynn Rogers encouraged by Kansas House’s rural development panel
WIBW | Posted onJanuary 2, 2019 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsDemocratic Lieutenant Governor-elect Lynn Rogers says he’s encouraged that the Kansas House has formed a new Rural Revitalization Committee and looks forward to working with its Republican chairman.
More on the Farm Bill
Daily Independent | Posted onJanuary 2, 2019 in Federal NewsBut the new Farm Bill also has a lot of other good attributes. They include: — Reform of the failed insurance program for dairy farmers. The old system is known as the Margin Protection Program and it was a failure. A lot of dairy farmers facing difficult markets and prices couldn’t get relief from the program despite contributions to it.
In the age of climate change, farmers weigh their options for the future
Marketplace | Posted onJanuary 2, 2019 in Agriculture NewsTeske said he sees the impact of climate change on his farm and has worked on the issue as president of the Kansas Farmers Union. He worries about what’s been reported for years – that the Corn Belt is moving northeast because of hotter weather. He gave up growing corn two years ago, switching to sorghum, which is more drought tolerant, so more profitable.
Chickpeas sit in silos as Trump's trade wars wage on
NPR | Posted onJanuary 2, 2019 in Agriculture NewsOn a recent rainy day, farmer Allen Druffel stands outside a silo shuffling his feet in the gravel. This co-op bin is where he stores his dried garbanzo beans in the tiny town of Colton, Wash. The place should be busy; trucks should be loading and hauling this year's crop to markets and international ports. But midafternoon, there's just the rain. Since farmers like Druffel brought in this year's crops, hardly any garbanzos — or chickpeas — have moved."Thirty to 40 percent of our total revenue is in the bin," Druffel says.
Trade wars cost U.S., China billions of dollars each in 2018
Reuters | Posted onJanuary 2, 2019 in Agriculture NewsThe U.S.-China trade war resulted in billions of dollars of losses for both sides in 2018, hitting industries including autos, technology - and above all, agriculture.Broad pain from trade tariffs outlined by several economists shows that, while specialized industries including U.S. soybean crushing benefited from the dispute, it had an overall detrimental impact on both of the world’s two largest economies.The losses may give U.S.
China is finding new ways to hurt U.S. businesses
Politico | Posted onJanuary 2, 2019 in Agriculture NewsAs the trade war escalated between the United States and China this spring, American cherry exporters in Washington state unexpectedly found their customs processing slowed at the Chinese border.Unannounced, increased inspections began in late May and in early June. The extra time the inspections took backed up shipments into mainland China, leading to some shipments rotting on the docks and forcing exporters to divert their produce so it could be sold before it spoiled. Data on such disruptions is hard to come by.
Farmers risk loss of federal payments, loans, from shutdown
AP | Posted onJanuary 2, 2019 in NewsThe end of 2018 seemed to signal good things to come for America’s farmers. Fresh off the passage of the farm bill, which reauthorized agriculture, conservation and safety net programs, the Agriculture Department last week announced a second round of direct payments to growers hardest hit by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.Then parts of the government shut down.The USDA in a statement issued last week assured farmers that checks would continue to go out during the first week of the shutdown.