AgClips
Recent AgClips
Court denies USDA motion to dismiss organic lawsuit
Capital Press | Posted onOctober 7, 2018 in Agriculture, Federal NewsA ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will allow a lawsuit by the Organic Trade Association against USDA over its withdrawal of the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule to proceed. U.S. District Judge Rosemary M.
Michigan dairy farmers either exit or eat up equity
Michigan Farmer | Posted onOctober 4, 2018 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsExhausting. That’s how Hank Choate describes the last three years in Michigan as dairy farmers there have continued to receive the lowest milk price in the country. “The impact, the economic toll it is having on many producers is heart-wrenching,” he says. The fifth-generation dairy farmer from Cement City operates Choate’s Belly Acres in partnership with his family.
Ohio has lost 172 dairy farms in 12 months
Farm and Dairy | Posted onOctober 4, 2018 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsSince June 25, 66 more Ohio dairy farms have ceased milking cows. In three months, 3 percent of Ohio’s dairy herds are gone. Since October 2017 — when there were 2,312 operating, licensed dairy farms in Ohio — 172 farms have quit milking, a decline of 7.4 percent of dairy farms in one year.
Washington cattle industry in searing debate over brand program
Capital Press | Posted onOctober 4, 2018 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsBrand inspections, a way to catch rustlers, will end next year in Washington unless the cattle industry fully funds the inspections, according to the state Department of Agriculture. The department says it loses $38,000 a month checking brands on cattle that are being sold. If the Legislature doesn’t bring fees in line with expenses, inspections will cease in July, according to a budget plan submitted Monday.“We do not take this lightly at all. We understand the seriousness of it,” department spokesman Hector Castro said Wednesday.
Public Lands Grazing Helps Ranchers, Sage Grouse, Study Says
Capital Press | Posted onOctober 4, 2018 in Agriculture NewsGrazing restrictions on public lands may have unintended consequences for greater sage grouse, according to a recent study. The imperiled birds depend on habitat on both public and private lands, and much of that habitat can be lost when ranching operations go under. “We found that as the restrictions to public lands increased, (private) landowners have historically made decisions to alter their land use.
Judge upholds North Dakota’s Corporate Farming Law
Cattle Business Weekly | Posted onOctober 4, 2018 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsU.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland has upheld North Dakota’s Corporate Farming Law. The order comes as a result of a lawsuit filed in August of 2016 by the North Dakota Farm Bureau and several farmers who claimed that the Corporate Farming Law was unconstitutional.The Corporate Farming Law prohibits most corporations from farming or owning farmland in North Dakota. However, small family farms are excluded from this prohibition.
Rural workers get fewer benefits to help with elder care
Daily Yonder | Posted onOctober 4, 2018 in Rural NewsNinety percent of the long-term care our elders receive comes from volunteers – family or loved ones who provide the care for free. For caregivers who also work a separate paying job, some workplace benefits might help make things easier. Rural workers are less likely to receive those types of benefits, a new study finds.Approximately 44 million Americans are providing unpaid care for elderly loved ones or family members. These volunteers provide up to 90% of all the long-term care elders receive in the U.S.Rural caregivers face special hurdles. Rural populations tend to be older.
Small towns trade farmland for residential development
Daily Yonder | Posted onOctober 4, 2018 in Rural NewsA new study from American Farmland Trust shows development around small towns across the Midwest has contributed nearly as much to the loss of agricultural land since 1992 as urban sprawl. American Farm Trust is a nonprofit advocacy group with a mission of protecting farmland, promoting sound farming practices and keeping farmers on the land.
Hemp, on the Brink of Being Legal, Still Faces Challenges
Pew Trust | Posted onOctober 4, 2018 in Federal NewsIt’s a giddy time for the U.S. hemp industry. Farmers are planting more acres. Businesses are selling more products. And with Congress on the brink of fully legalizing hemp, industry insiders are eagerly anticipating a boom. But even if the legalization provisions in the 2018 farm bill pass, hemp will remain a tightly regulated crop facing plenty of regulatory and legal challenges.
Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on modernizing standards of identity and the use of dairy names for plant-based substitutes
FDA | Posted onOctober 4, 2018 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe wide variety of plant-based foods that are being positioned in the marketplace as substitutes for standardized dairy products has been the subject of much discussion in our initial work on the Nutrition Innovation Strategy. The rising demand for plant-based products, like soy-based alternatives to cheese and nut-based alternatives to milk, has created a growing number of new food choices in supermarket aisles.