AgClips
Recent AgClips
U.S. ethanol producers seek pricing reform as markets plunge, ADM sells
Reuters | Posted onDecember 18, 2018 in Energy, Federal NewsU.S. ethanol producers stung by collapsing prices are seeking changes to the way benchmark values for the biofuel are established, arguing the current system used by exchanges is vulnerable to manipulation, according to sources. The push comes as the key farm belt industry struggles with weak demand growth, a loss of export markets due to the U.S. trade war with China, and aggressive selling by global commodities giant Archer Daniels Midland Co that have pushed ethanol prices to 13-year lows.Top U.S.
This will be the last Ag Clips before Christmas
State Agriculture and Rural Leaders | Posted onNovember 22, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsWe will be visiting farms and touring agriculture in New Zealand, so there will be no AG Clips again until the Christmas edition. If one happens to slip out it is just a repeat. Have a wonderful thanksgiving holiday. Peace. love and kindness to all.
Chevron granted waiver from U.S. biofuel laws at Utah plant
Reuters | Posted onNovember 22, 2018 in Energy NewsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted oil major Chevron Corp a 2017 hardship waiver from U.S. biofuel laws for its Utah refinery earlier this year.
The future of food production amid global change
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Posted onNovember 22, 2018 in Agriculture NewsWhen it comes to impacting global change, agriculture cuts both ways. Subject to the vicissitudes of global climate change, population, and economic growth, the cultivation of crops and livestock alters atmospheric concentrations of planet-warming greenhouse gases and ]contributes to pollution of freshwater and coastal areas.
Dairy farmers refuse £6,000 to allow filming of milk production in Denmark
Independent | Posted onNovember 22, 2018 in Agriculture NewsDairy farmers in Denmark have refused an offer of nearly £6,000 to let animal-rights campaigners film the production of milk, butter and cheese. The country’s farmers, who supply dairy products for the firm behind British brands Anchor and Lurpak, have not accepted the cash incentive to let cameras in to record how cows and calves are treated every day.
India is about to become the world's biggest sugar producer
Business Times | Posted onNovember 22, 2018 in Agriculture NewsBrazil, traditionally the world's top sugar producer, is poised to cede the crown to India for the first time in 16 years. Production in the Asian country this season may rise 5.2 per cent to a record 35.9 million metric tons on increasing acreage and improving yields, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service said Tuesday in a report.
Monsanto appeals $78M verdict in California weed killer suit
AP | Posted onNovember 22, 2018 in Agriculture NewsAgribusiness giant Monsanto on Tuesday appealed a $78 million verdict in favor of a dying California man who said the company’s widely used Roundup weed killer was a major factor in his cancer. The company filed a notice of appeal in San Francisco Superior Court challenging a jury verdict in favor of DeWayne Johnson. In August, the jury unanimously found that Roundup caused Johnson’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and awarded him $289 million.Last month, Judge Suzanne Bolanos slashed that award to $78 million. Monsanto had sought a new trial or judgment in its favor.
U.S. judge selects first case in federal Monsanto weed-killer litigation
Reuters | Posted onNovember 22, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA U.S. judge overseeing the federal litigation against Bayer AG’s Monsanto unit over glyphosate-based weed-killers allegedly causing cancer on Tuesday selected the first case to be tried in federal court in February 2019. U.S. District Judge Vince Chaabria in San Francisco in an order said the case of California resident Edwin Hardeman will be the first out of more than 620 cases pending in the federal litigation to go to a jury.Hardeman’s case will mark the second trial in the U.S.
Lack of farm labor could make fruits, vegetables unaffordable
USA Today | Posted onNovember 22, 2018 in Food NewsMy farm's fresh strawberries are available at reasonable prices all year because of foreign labor. But immigration rules could put farms in the lurch.As a third-generation family farmer with decades of experience, I’ve spent years grappling with the impact of this worker shortage.I grow strawberries. This April, at the beginning of peak harvest season, I didn’t have enough workers to pick all the ripe berries before they rotted in the fields. In a single month, I lost $500,000.When I first entered the strawberry business in the 1970s, the fruit was considered a luxury item.
State denies permit to Arkansas hog farm near Buffalo River
Minnesota Star Tribune | Posted onNovember 22, 2018 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsAn Arkansas environmental regulatory agency denied a permit for a hog farm Monday because of concerns that pig waste might be contaminating the nearby Buffalo River. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality issued a final decision that C&H Hog Farm in Vendor can no longer operate.