AgClips
Recent AgClips
Scott Pruitt's Parting Shot At U.S. Ethanol Producers
Seeking Alpha | Posted onJuly 17, 2018 in Energy NewsEPA Administrator and refining industry ally Scott Pruitt resigned earlier this month after losing the support of the White House. Shortly before his departure, the EPA implemented substantial reductions to biofuel blending volumes under the national blending mandate. Recently-released EPA documents show that the reductions were implemented in a way that will keep ethanol blending at roughly 10 vol% of gasoline consumption. The EPA documents also show that the reduction decision occurred shortly before Mr. Pruitt's departure.
People on food stamps may no longer be able to shop at farmers’ markets
Market Watch | Posted onJuly 17, 2018 in Food, Rural NewsSquabbles over a government contract may prevent low-income families from having easy access to farm-fresh fruits and vegetables. At issue: The ability of low-income Americans on government assistance to use their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to buy food at farmers’ markets. Farmers’ markets have to be equipped to accept the EBT cards. If markets are not able to operate devices that can handle EBT payments, vendors must use manual paper vouchers instead. Congress has approved $4 million each year so the USDA can provide EBT equipment to markets and farmers, the USDA said.
‘We will not serve or pay for meat:’ WeWork takes the green workplace to a new level
The Washington Post | Posted onJuly 17, 2018 in Food NewsWeWork is trying a new tactic in the push toward corporate sustainability by saying it was committed to being “a meat-free organization.” The global network of shared office spaces said in an email to employees last week that “moving forward, we will not serve or pay for meat at WeWork events and want to clarify that this includes poultry and pork, as well as red meat.” The company’s co-founder and chief culture officer, Miguel McKelvey, said the new policy was one way it could do more to become environmentally conscious.
Air pollution is increasing over a wide swath of the U.S. because of record wildfires
Mashable | Posted onJuly 17, 2018 in Rural NewsThe consequences of America’s swelling wildfire problem are traveling well beyond blackened, ashy forests.
Blame Congress for immigration inaction that jeopardizes American agriculture
The Hill | Posted onJuly 17, 2018 in Agriculture, Federal NewsFor more than 50 years, since the nullification of the Bracero Treatyand left-unprotected U.S. border, the issue of illegal immigration has vexed our democracy. If there is one thing worse than the byzantine immigration system left in its wake, it’s the unending blame game from the very people charged with providing sound immigration policy: Congress. On one side are the hardliners more than willing to cast the first stone at the illegal immigrant, yet completely unwilling to see their own neglect of leaving a border wide open to a poverty-stricken nation for so many years.
Lawsuit: Blame Monsanto for widespread Kansas crop losses
Fast Company | Posted onJuly 17, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA new lawsuit alleges that Monsanto knew that a potent herbicide would harm crops that weren’t resistant, but sold a product based on it anyway. As a result, potentially thousands of acres of crops that weren’t resistant to the herbicide died, the lawsuit says. The legal complaint was filed by 4-R Farms, which lost 200 acres of soybeans.
33 people were killed on farms in the last year
Eastern Daily Press | Posted onJuly 17, 2018 in Agriculture NewsThe Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says the number of fatalities in agriculture is 18 times higher than the average across other major UK industries. Among the 29 farm workers killed, the biggest cause of death was livestock, accounting for almost a quarter of all fatalities (24%), followed by being struck by a farm vehicle (18%), and trapped by a structure collapsing (15%). Other causes include being struck by an object, falls from height and contact with electricity.
How animal welfare claims fare in the grocery aisle
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onJuly 17, 2018 in Food Newsupermarket executives seeing strong sales of products with claims and certifications that indicate better animal welfare, and are motivated to provide them with precious shelf space. However, supermarket decision-makers largely do not understand the differences between animal welfare claims and animal welfare certifications, according to a study co-authored by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Technomic, summarizing the grocery retail landscape for products that bear animal welfare-related claims.
Researchers Find Promising Results In Frac Sand Mine Reclamation Test Plot
Wisconsin Public Radio | Posted onJuly 17, 2018 in Energy NewsA five-year study in Chippewa County has transformed a reclaimed frac sand mine into a successful wild prairie. Researchers are hopeful that lessons learned can be used at other mining operations around the state beginning to fill in their pits. In a rare collaboration, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls worked with industrial sand mining firm Superior Silica Sands and Chippewa County’s Department of Land Conservation and Forest Management to learn how sand mining impacts soil that is stripped away, stored and replaced after mining operations wrap up.
Scrapping dairy management system 'unacceptable,' Canadian diplomat says
Politico | Posted onJuly 17, 2018 in Federal NewsCanadian Deputy Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman said that scrapping the nation's dairy supply-management system — a proposal the U.S. made in the NAFTA renegotiation — is "unacceptable." Canada is America's "second-largest export market for dairy," Hillman pointed out. Despite that robust cross-border business, many in the U.S.