AgClips
Recent AgClips
Andrew Cuomo: Legalize recreational marijuana in New York in 2019
Democrat and Chronicle | Posted onDecember 18, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsGov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday offered his most forceful support to date for legalizing recreational marijuana , marking the culmination of a dramatic shift for the governor who called it a "gateway drug" as recently as last year. Cuomo, a Democrat, vowed in a speech in Manhattan to push for legalization within the first 100 days of 2019, saying it was beyond time for the state to deal with the "debilitating criminal stigma" of prior convictions related to the drug.
The ARC farm program failed as a widespread safety net for agriculture in 2017
Ag Policy | Posted onDecember 18, 2018 in Federal NewsA couple of weeks ago, a reader from Iowa wrote us, “I stopped into the Farm Service Agency office today…to see if there would be any farm subsidies this year, (as I hadn’t received any yet). They said there would be none for my county and most other counties [in Iowa]. “So, your predictions about ARC [Agricultural Risk Coverage] have come true, a bit more dramatically than I expected.”He then asked, “I wonder what it’s like in other states?”That piqued our interest, so we decided to look up the numbers and share with all of our readers what we found. First, let’s start with Iowa.
Arizona’s wild horse paradox
High Country News | Posted onDecember 18, 2018 in Rural NewsThe horses stood chest-deep in the river, pulling up long strands of eelgrass with their teeth. There must have been 20 of them, in colors ranging from nearly white to ruddy brown. The babies stood wobbly in the current. My partner and I floated quietly past in our kayak, trying not to spook them. But it was a sweltering Friday in July, and we were followed by hollering college students in rented innertubes. Beer coolers floated along behind them, and music reverberated off the canyon walls. Uninterested and used to the party, the horses barely looked up.
Groups push for ag to be included in any U.S./EU trade deal
Meating Place (free registration required) | Posted onDecember 18, 2018 in Federal NewsAn ad hoc coalition of more than 50 food and agriculture organizations is insisting that any trade deal between the United States and the European Union include agriculture and that it address the EU’s restrictive tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. farm products. In a letter sent to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 53 organizations, led by the National Pork Producers Council, urged the Trump administration “to continue stressing to [the EU] that only a truly comprehensive agreement will be acceptable to the Administration and, ultimately, to the U.S.
Coalition sets new standards for antibiotic stewardship for animals
Meating Place (free registration required) | Posted onDecember 18, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA group of food companies, livestock producers, trade associations and retailers has released what they call a comprehensive framework to strengthen oversight of the use of antibiotics in food animals. The goal is to more carefully manage the use of medically important antibiotics to slow down the emergence of resistant bacteria and maintain the effectiveness of the drugs.
First-ever proof of wolves catching and eating freshwater fish
Mercury News | Posted onDecember 18, 2018 in Rural NewsIn a revelation of wolf behavior from Minnesota’s Voyageurs National Park, researchers announced they have confirmed park wolves hunting for and eating fish out of streams as a regular part of their diet. The researchers released the first-ever video of wolves eating freshwater fish, and said GPS data shows one pack spent about half its time during several weeks in April and May “hunting” in creeks for suckers and northern pike.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency enacts Chronic Wasting Disease plan
Clarksville On-Line | Posted onDecember 18, 2018 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) is enacting the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Response plan, following a preliminary positive detection of CWD in white-tailed deer in Hardeman County and Fayette County. The response plan involves a coordinated effort between TWRA, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, and other partners. “Hunters are our biggest ally in managing chronic wasting disease in Tennessee if it is confirmed here,” said Dr. Dan Grove, Wildlife Veterinarian, University of Tennessee Extension.
FDA reports 33% drop in antibiotic use
Meat & Poultry | Posted onDecember 18, 2018 in NewsDomestic sales and distribution of all medically important antibiotics for use in food-producing animals dropped 33 percent between 2016 and 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in its “2017 Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals.” Additionally, domestic sales and distribution of all medically important antibiotics fell 41 percent since 2015, a peak year of sales and distribution, and declined 28 percent since 2009, the first year of reported sales.
America Can’t Move Its Cheese
The Wall Street Journal | Posted onDecember 18, 2018 in Agriculture NewsAmerica’s cheese hoard continues to balloon to unprecedented levels, as producers fear the mountain could grow further and put even more dairy farmers out of business. About 1.4 billion pounds of American, cheddar and other kinds of cheese is socked away at cold-storage warehouses across the country, the biggest stockpile since federal record-keeping began a century ago.Driving the glut are cheese makers who ramped up production before trade tensions abroad tamped down demand for many of their products. Shifting tastes at home have further changed the outlook for traditional cheese makers.
Stabenow: Farm Bill would benefit Detroit's urban agriculture
The Detroit News | Posted onDecember 18, 2018 in Federal NewsDemocratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow on Monday championed reforms to encourage urban agriculture in the 2018 Farm Bill. Stabenow, a ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, urged President Donald Trump to sign the bipartisan legislation that would widen a safety net for farmers, encourage conservation efforts and protect food assistance programs.Both chambers of Congress passed the bill by wide margins last week."I see through the lens of Michigan, and Michigan really is on every page," Stabenow said during a press conference at Eastern Market.