AgClips
Recent AgClips
The Epic Battle Between Breast Milk and Infant-Formula Companies
The Atlantic | Posted onJuly 12, 2018 in Food NewsWhen Trump administration officials opposed a WHO breast-feeding resolution, they followed a long history of policymakers listening to baby-formula manufacturers. American officials at the World Health Assembly in Geneva this spring wanted to modify a breastfeeding resolution, and they went to the mat to do it, threatening other countries unless they promised to drop it.
Colorado oil and gas ballot initiative would bar extraction on more than 80 percent of non-federal land, state regulators say
The Denver Post | Posted onJuly 12, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsMore than 4 of every 5 acres of non-federal land in Colorado would be off-limits to new oil and gas drilling if voters this fall approve a proposed ballot measure that aims to significantly widen the distance wells have to be from occupied buildings and water sources, according to an analysis released this month by state energy regulators.The report, which doesn’t directly address the initiative’s potential economic impact, comes at the fever pitch of a yearslong dispute over how and where companies access mineral rights.
2018 Income Projections After Recent Price Declines
Farm Doc Daily | Posted onJuly 12, 2018 in Agriculture NewsIn recent weeks, cash corn prices have declined by $.50 per bushel and soybean prices by $1.80 per bushel, resulting in much lower 2018 income expectations. Crop revenue and returns are projected for corn and soybeans on high-productivity farmland in central Illinois. These per acre returns then are used to project 2018 net income on a 1,500 acre grain farm. At prices of $3.40 for corn and $8.45 for soybeans, 2018 net incomes could approach the average for the past two years if three conditions are met: 1) a significant amount of grain produced in 2017 was sold in 2018 for a marketing ga
Columnists Adam Hinds and SARL President Stephen Kulik: A rural strategy for economic growth
Daily Hampshire Gazette | Posted onJuly 12, 2018 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsMassachusetts, like the rest of the country, is experiencing growing disparity between rural and urban centers.To reverse this trend, Massachusetts requires a rural strategy for economic growth. We must do more to attract investment that retains and expands existing jobs, stimulates the creation of new jobs and attracts new business and industry in these parts of the commonwealth. Between 2010 and 2017, the nation’s population grew by some 17 million people.
Hundreds rally in support of N.C. hog farmers
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onJuly 12, 2018 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe recent award of $25 million in damages to residents who sued a Smithfield hog farm prompted a rally this week in support of hog farmers, and proposals that could restrict such lawsuits are moving through the state legislature. Several hundred people gathered in Duplin County, N.C., to support hog farmers across the state that could become targets of what the protesters called nuisance lawsuits over the disposal of hog waste or other environmental impacts.
Rural by Choice: seeing another side
Daily Yonder | Posted onJuly 12, 2018 in NewsThere are problems with rural areas, but if everyone were like me and saw the hospitals leaving and decided this is it, this is where I pack my bag and run, it would only get worse. We all have such great opportunity to help here. Even if it’s just by dumping the negative views of these rural areas. Even if it’s realizing that there is more than the two severe points on the spectrum, that the middle ground exists and should be acknowledged. I hate the negative attitude I have adopted about my rural area, that I have accepted all the one-sided stories.
Why you should care about undocumented immigrants
Daily Yonder | Posted onJuly 12, 2018 in Agriculture NewsUndocumented workers are an integral part of industries such as farming. Reducing our reliance on undocumented workers will have big impacts for farming communities and American consumers.While the nation’s attention is currently focused on the southern border, what’s being forgotten is that millions of undocumented immigrants continue to live in the U.S. – and most of them work.And in fact, these workers play vital roles in the U.S. economy, erecting American buildings, picking American apples and grapes, and taking care of American babies. Oh, and paying American taxes.
Guide explores resources to protect drinking water from runoff
Agri-Pulse | Posted onJuly 12, 2018 in Rural NewsThe American Water Works Association (AWWA) has introduced a guide designed to walk utility systems through water conservation programs available via the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The guide, USDA Tools to Support Source Water Protection, provides information about keeping drinking water safe and free of excess nutrients.
Trump's trade war 'undermines' everything the state of Washington has done to build global markets: Gov. Jay Inslee
CNBC | Posted onJuly 12, 2018 in Agriculture NewsWashington state is home to some of the most successful companies in the world: Starbucks, Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing. It may not be thought of as a farm state, but its agricultural industry is huge, with more than $8 billion in exports.$1.8 billion worth of Washington exports, including more than $1 billion in agricultural products, are expected to be hit by retaliatory tariffs. Retaliatory tariffs from our trading partners will be soon be imposed on an estimated $1.8 billion worth of Washington exports, including more than $1 billion in agricultural products.
Minnesota sweetens the pot to shift cropland into Conservation
Mankato Free Press | Posted onJuly 12, 2018 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsNew program pays up to 90 percent of land value.Under the program, landowners enroll land in the federal Conservation Reserve Program for 15 years. But they also sign up for the Reinvest in Minnesota program, and agree to a permanent easement, a legal document stipulating the land must always be managed for conservation.The federal program protects land for 10 or 15 years, opening the door for the land to be plowed under again.