AgClips
Recent AgClips
Missouri farmer charged in $140M organic grain fraud scheme
Omaha World Herald | Posted onDecember 20, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA Missouri farmer is accused of marketing $140 million worth of non-organic corn, soybeans and wheat as organic over 7½ years.The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, charged Randy Constant with fraud on Wednesday. He is expected to appear in court Thursday.Constant owned and operated two companies that grew and sold organics. He’s accused of saying his grains were certified organic because some of them came from organic farms he operated in Nebraska and Missouri. But prosecutors say more than 90 percent of his product was non-organic grain purchased from other farmers.
New study will track how trade wars affect the Midwest
Ohio State News | Posted onDecember 20, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA team of researchers who first proposed studying the effect a global trade war could have on the Midwest never imagined there would be an actual trade war underway as they conducted their research.
Farmers buoyed but cautious as China resumes buying soybeans
MPR | Posted onDecember 20, 2018 in Agriculture NewsThe resumption of soybean sales to China this week is encouraging to American farmers who have seen the value of their crop plummet amid a trade war with the world's second-largest economy, but producers see it only as a small step and say they need more federal aid. Private exporters reported sales of 1.13 million metric tons of soybeans to China on Thursday and another 300,000 metric tons on Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
DuPont Pioneer lays off Iowa workers as it works toward full Dow-DuPont merger
Des Moines Register | Posted onDecember 20, 2018 in Agriculture NewsDuPont Pioneer will lay off 35 workers as parent company DuPont continues work on its merger with Dow Chemical. Company spokesman Gregg Schmidt said DuPont notified Iowa Workforce Development on Nov. 30 of its intent to eliminate the Iowa positions on Jan. 31, 2019.DuPont and Dow Chemical closed on their $150 billion merger in fall 2017. Since then, the firms have announced plans to rename Iowa-based DuPont Pioneer to Corteva Agriscience after it spins out of DowDuPont next year and becomes part of a new standalone ag business.
Trump now says he won't sign spending bill without wall money
| Posted onDecember 20, 2018 in Federal NewsPresident Donald Trump in a closed-door meeting with House Republican leaders on Thursday reiterated that he would not sign a short-term spending bill passed by the Senate to keep the government open past the midnight Friday deadline if it does not include funding for his proposed border wall.
Rural housing group warns of looming crisis for renters
Daily Yonder | Posted onDecember 20, 2018 in Rural NewsThe nation is not keeping pace with repairing and replacing more than 400,000 affordable rental units that serve low-income rural residents. Without action, a cascade of rentals will age out of the program, creating a housing gap that could contribute to rural population loss, according to the Housing Assistance Council. Rural America faces an affordable-housing crisis that, if left unchecked, could raise rents for low-income residents and contribute to rural population loss in coming years, a national nonprofit organization says.
N.J. becomes first in the nation to ban exotic animals in traveling shows
Philadelphia Enquirer | Posted onDecember 20, 2018 in NewsNew Jersey has become the first state in the country to ban elephants and other exotic animals from traveling performances, in a move praised by animal rights advocates, who are lobbying other states to enact similar measures.“Nosey’s Law,” signed by Gov. Murphy on Friday, is named after an African elephant once owned by a Florida-based operator.
Nevada legislature first in US with majority women
Las Vegas Sun | Posted onDecember 20, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe first majority-female legislature in the country will convene in Carson City in February after a series of recent appointments. The Nevada Legislature will have 32 women and 31 men, with 23 women in the 42-member Assembly and nine in the 21-member Senate.
Trade-mitigation aid won’t undo damage, ag groups say
Capital Press | Posted onDecember 20, 2018 in Federal NewsAfter reports last week that the White House was delaying additional payments to farmers to mitigate lost trade due to retaliatory tariffs, USDA announced on Monday a second and final round of assistance.
Even after Farm Bill, hemp needs help from Washington lawmakers
Capital Press | Posted onDecember 20, 2018 in Agriculture NewsFederal lawmakers have lightened up on hemp, but the non-intoxicating plant still needs an assist from Washington's marijuana-embracing legislators. The new Farm Bill takes hemp off the federal list of illicit drugs, but it does not change state hemp laws.In Washington, hemp can't be grown within 4 miles of marijuana. That regulation helps explain why Washington has lagged behind other states in growing and processing hemp.Washington has more than 1,200 licensed marijuana growers, according to the State Liquor and Cannabis Board. A large portion of the state is closed to hemp.