AgClips
Recent AgClips
60,000 tons of dangerous radioactive waste sits on Great Lakes shores
Detroit Free Press | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Energy NewsMore than 60,000 tons of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel is stored on the shores of four of the five Great Lakes — in some cases, mere yards from the waterline — in still-growing stockpiles. \“It’s actually the most dangerous waste produced by any industry in the history of the Earth,” said Gordon Edwards, president of the nonprofit Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility.The spent nuclear fuel is partly from 15 current or former U.S. nuclear power plants, including four in Michigan, that have generated it over the past 50 years or more.
Mayor returns home to try to lift town plagued by poverty
Capital Press | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Rural NewsBeyond the boarded-up buildings and patchwork fences that others view as eyesores, Huron Mayor Rey Leon sees potential in this tiny central California farm town that has been mired in poverty for decades.Leon, 45, was a reluctant and unlikely leader for one of the state’s poorest cities.
Arizona cancels vaccine program after backlash from parents who don't vaccinate
Arizona Central | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe state of Arizona has canceled a vaccine education program after receiving complaints from parents who don't immunize their school-age children.
Colorado cracks a billion in annual marijuana sales in record time, generating $200M in tax revenue
The Denver Post | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsMarijuana sales in Colorado exceeded $1 billion as of August of this year, with tax revenue from those sales coming in at $200 million, according to a report from the Colorado Department of Revenue and its Marijuana Enforcement Division.
Offshore wind farms planned on East and West coasts
Western Mass News | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Energy NewsThe U.S. government is taking steps to develop offshore wind farms off both coasts. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced this week the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold an offshore wind auction Dec.
Working lands play a key role in protecting biodiversity
Science Daily | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Agriculture NewsDiversifying working lands -- including farmland, rangeland and forests -- may be key to preserving biodiversity in the face of climate change, says a new review article. These changes could extend the habitat of critters like bats, but also much larger creatures like bears, elk and other wildlife, outside the boundaries of protected areas, while creating more sustainable, and potentially more productive, working lands.
UNL Specialist sees large gap in farm safety net
Brownfield | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Federal NewsA University of Nebraska Extension policy specialist foresees a large gap in the farm safety net for crop producers in 2019. Nebraska crop producers, for example, have received 500 to 600 million dollars in total payments on each of the 2014 through 2016 crops.
Study proves gene editing in pigs can prevent virus infection
Veterinary Practice News | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA team of researchers from the University of Missouri (MU), Kansas State University (KSU), and biotechnology company, Genus plc, have successfully produced a litter of pigs genetically resistant to a deadly porcine virus through gene editing. Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), a coronavirus, is highly contagious and commonly infects pig intestines. The team edited the gene responsible for making the ANPEP enzyme, resulting in a litter of seven pigs with a null gene that did not produce the enzyme.
Hawaii, Trust for Public Land acquire former Dole land for $15M
Pacific Business News | Posted onOctober 29, 2018 in Rural NewsThe state of Hawaii and the Trust for Public Land have closed on the acquisition of 2,882 acres of forest and fallow lands near the Helemano Military Reservation in Central Oahu from the Dole Food Co. The $15.16 million purchase price was funded by a half dozen public and private sources: $1.5 million from the Hawaii State Legacy Land Conservation Fund; $5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Legacy Program; $2 million from the U.S.
Innovative plan to combine housing, farmland nears vote
Daily Democrat | Posted onOctober 29, 2018 in Agriculture, Rural NewsIn a first for the Bay Area, developers hoping to break ground on a new housing complex next year are wooing potential residents by offering a quirky but increasingly popular perk. It’s not a golf course, health club or even a pet spa — the big draw will be a farm, and access to all the tomatoes, zucchini and kale you can eat.