AgClips
Recent AgClips
Northeast farmers paid following settlement $50M lawsuit
Observer Reporter | Posted onSeptember 6, 2018 in Agriculture NewsThousands of Northeast dairy farmers – including some from Pennsylvania – are receiving their share of a $50 million settlement, nearly nine years after the farmers filed a class-action lawsuit against a national dairy marketing cooperative.Dairy farmers of America this week paid an average of $4,000 to nearly 9,000 farms to settle a lawsuit that accused the marketing group of trying to drive down milk prices.The 2009 class-action lawsuit charged Dairy Farmers of America; its marketing arm, Dairy Marketing Services; and Dallas-based Dean Foods with working together to monopolize the market
Got Milk? Or Was That Really a Plant Beverage?
The New York Times | Posted onSeptember 6, 2018 in Food NewsNo one can even agree on milk anymore. What is it? Where does it come from? Must it be lactated?This seemingly existential debate is now pitting the dairy industry against the makers of what are known as “alternative milks” and neighborhood baristas. It was set off most recently by the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, when he made a surprising remark in July at a panel discussion in Washington. “An almond,” he said casually at the end of the event, “doesn’t lactate.”With his comment, Dr.
Trump’s Fight With Canada Over Nafta Faces New Hurdles
Bloomberg | Posted onSeptember 6, 2018 in Agriculture, Federal NewsPresident Donald Trump’s effort to force Canada into signing on to a new Nafta on his terms is facing new hurdles thanks to growing opposition at home to his threat to proceed without the U.S.’s northern neighbor. Trump’s frustration spilled into the open over the weekend as he railed against Canada on Twitter -- as well as its many supporters in both political parties. The president has threatened to leave Canada out of a new trade deal already negotiated with Mexico, but without congressional support he lacks leverage to force Ottawa to make concessions.
Arizona Supreme Court rules 50% renewables initiative will appear on ballot
Utility Dive | Posted onSeptember 6, 2018 in Energy NewsArizona voters will consider a 50% renewable energy standard when they head to the polls in November following a decision from the state's Supreme Court last week.Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona (CEHA) submitted 480,000 signatures in support of the ballot initiative, far more than the required 225,000 signatures.
Millennials put pets first when buying a home
CNBC | Posted onSeptember 6, 2018 in Rural NewsA full 73 percent of millennials currently own a pet, according to the American Pet Products Association. A whopping 89 percent of millennials who bought a home so far this year own a pet, according to Realtor.com.For this demographic, 79 percent of pet-owning homebuyers who closed on a property this year said they would pass up an otherwise perfect home if it didn't meet the needs of their pets, according to a Realtor.com survey.
Swine fever has made its way into China, home to half the world’s pigs.
The Guardian | Posted onSeptember 6, 2018 in Agriculture NewsThis is not the first time Europe has been struck by ASF. In 1957, it was introduced into Portugal, reportedly after infected airline food was fed as swill to pigs near Lisbon airport. The disease spread to Spain and France and took until the 1990s to eradicate through concerted surveillance and culling. In southern Spain, where ticks acted as an additional reservoir, old-fashioned farm buildings were destroyed and replaced with modern facilities to keep ticks out.
Ohio legislature revises law governing dog breeders
The Ohio Legislature | Posted onSeptember 6, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsUnder this bill, a high volume breeder is an establishment that keeps , houses and maintains six or more breeding dogs (meaning a fertile, unspayed, adult dog) AND meets one of the following criteria:In return for a fee or other consideration, sells 5 or more dogs to a pet store or dog retailer (a retailer is defined in current law as someone who sells at wholesale for resale), or In return for a fee or other consideration, sells 40 or more puppies in a calendar year to the public, or Keeps, houses and maintains at any given time in a calendar year, more than 60 puppies under the age of 6 m
USDA to Implement Regulatory Reforms to Increase Access to Capital in Rural Areas
USDA | Posted onSeptember 6, 2018 in Federal NewsAssistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today announced that USDA is hosting listening sessions to solicit feedback on a plan to increase access to capital in rural areas by streamlining regulations for four Rural Development loan guarantee programs. “At USDA, we know that for many rural communities the regulations that govern our programs can be outdated and difficult to navigate,” Hazlett said.
Now ‘meat,’ apparently, doesn’t have to be meat
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onSeptember 6, 2018 in Food NewsImpossible Foods CEO Pat Brown is saying in interviews that, essentially, meat isn’t “meat” — that it doesn’t have to be derived from animals or any part of an animal. For example, a “lightly edited” version of an interview with a reporter from the Associated Press has been published in newspapers around the country.
Closing the digital and economic divides in rural America
Brookings | Posted onSeptember 6, 2018 in Rural NewsThese experiences of rural Americans highlight the need for expanded universal service programs, like the Lifeline program, that provide discounted communications services to eligible, low-income populations. The program was established by the FCC during the Reagan administration in 1985, but recent efforts by the agency to apply stricter scrutiny on eligibility criteria and to limit the program benefits will greatly affect the Mulgrave family and so many others like them who struggle to maintain this required service.