AgClips
Recent AgClips
Exxon Puts $1 Million Into Quest for Carbon Tax and Rebate
Bloomberg | Posted onOctober 10, 2018 in Energy NewsAn effort to put a tax on carbon dioxide emissions just won an unlikely underwriter: a top producer of oil and gas.Exxon Mobil Corp. is putting $1 million into a political campaign that, if successful, would effectively spawn a tax tied to the company’s core products.The move is consistent with Exxon’s longstanding support for a price on carbon dioxide, imposed instead of an array of environmental regulations that already elevate the cost of fossil fuels.
Irvine quit using synthetic pesticides in 2016, now a farm bill could block such local restrictions
Orange County Register | Posted onOctober 10, 2018 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsIn the past three years, Irvine went from treating its parks and nature areas with more than 50 pounds and about 60 gallons of synthetic weed and pest killers annually, all the way down to zero. The city now uses organic products with ingredients such as corn gluten meal and oil from soybeans, lemongrass or rosemary. And Irvine is not alone – it’s one of more than 150 U.S.
Californians weigh making egg-laying hens cage-free by 2022
AP | Posted onOctober 10, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsCalifornia voters are right to think they already weighed in on how big cages should be for egg-laying hens. In 2008, voters ushered in Proposition 2, which sought to free egg-laying hens from tiny cages. It didn’t outlaw cages but barred California farmers from keeping hens — as well as calves raised for veal and breeding pigs — in pens so small they virtually couldn’t move.Since then, supermarket shelves have filled with cage-free egg varieties.
Which US communities are most affected by Chinese, EU, and NAFTA retaliatory tariffs?
Brookings | Posted onOctober 10, 2018 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe United States’ three largest trading partners—China, the European Union (EU), and NAFTA (Canada and Mexico)—have implemented tariffs on over $120 billion of U.S. exports.This short analysis reviews the exposure local communities have to these trade policy changes. It draws on the Export Monitor, a unique dataset developed as part of the Global Cities Initiative, to estimate which local and regional economies rely the most on export industries targeted by retaliatory tariffs.
States agree on plan to manage overtaxed Colorado River
Salt lake Tribune | Posted onOctober 10, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsSeven U.S. states in the Southwest that depend on the overtaxed Colorado River have reached tentative agreements on how to manage the waterway amid an unprecedented drought, officials said Tuesday. The announcement was a long-awaited step toward preserving the river, which supports 40 million people and 6,300 square miles of farmland in the U.S.
Abrupt release of hundreds of migrants in Phoenix is 'start of dam breaking'
NBC | Posted onOctober 10, 2018 in Federal, Rural NewsHundreds of migrant families seeking asylum in the U.S. were released from detention in Arizona this week without warning and without instructions on where to go, how to find relatives or travel to their court hearings.
Dispute over focus on horses roils supporters of Baltimore County agriculture center
Baltilore Sun | Posted onOctober 10, 2018 in Agriculture NewsThe Center for Maryland Agriculture and Farm Park, more commonly called the “Ag Center,” is a 150-acre park purchased by Baltimore County about 15 years ago with a mission to educate the public about farming.
Disqualified from SNAP? SAM I Am!
OFW Law | Posted onOctober 10, 2018 in Federal, Food NewsOwners of retail food stores permanently disqualified from participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are saddled with serious consequences in addition to the loss of the store’s ability to accept food stamp benefits (EBT). After USDA’s Food & Nutrition Service (FNS) permanently disqualifies a store, the agency promptly searches its SNAP retailer database to determine if the disqualified store’s shareholders have ownership interests in other SNAP-authorized stores.
Make Your Voice Heard: Uphold the Integrity of Milk!
American Dairy Coalition | Posted onOctober 10, 2018 in Federal, Food NewsAs a branch of the American Dairy Coalition (ADC), the Protecting Milk Integrity Initiative works to advocate for the proper use of federally standardized terms established for the word “milk” on product labels. In an effort to provide clarity and consistency for consumers across the nation, ADC is urging the FDA to stop allowing the wrongful use of the word “milk” in branding on non-milk, plant-based alternative products. It is time to end this confusion and protect the nutritious, wholesome and pure reputation of milk that is confirmed in the current FDA Standard of Identity.
China's small farms are fading. The world may benefit.
The New York Times | Posted onOctober 9, 2018 in Agriculture NewsZheng Nanda worked the fields that surround this village in the northern province of Shanxi for more than four decades, often behind a plow pulled by cows. He is now in his early 70s and too old for such arduous labor. His children long ago left for jobs in the city and have no interest in farming. So Mr. Zheng became an unlikely agent of change. He has rented almost all of his small plot to other farmers, who work it using modern equipment.