AgClips
Recent AgClips
Gov. Ricketts joins veterinarians to voice disapproval of tax increases
WOWT | Posted onApril 18, 2019 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsNebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts expressed his disapproval Monday morning of legislation that would tax veterinary services.Ricketts toured the Veterinary Centers of American and joined with veterinarians to ask lawmakers not to raise taxes. "We're here today to say keep your paws off of our pet healthcare," he said.The governor addressed proposals in the legislature that supporters said are needed to balance revenue lost if property tax relief is passed.Ricketts said no tax increase would help."I'm against raising all the taxes. We've done this in the past.
Washington lawmakers loosen truck weight rules during harvest
Capital Press | Posted onApril 18, 2019 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsTruck drivers hauling crops will have some leeway before getting a ticket for exceeding weight limits, according to a bill passed Monday by the state House. Senate Bill 5883 will let drivers carrying crops exceed weight limits by up to 5% twice in a calendar year. Farm lobbyists said that rain can make crops heavier than expected.The bill's sponsor, Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, said at a hearing this session the legislation will help growers during harvest season."This is about farmers getting their product out of the field," he said.
Governor signs bill to move Kansas toward hemp production
AP News | Posted onApril 18, 2019 in NewsKansas will be taking steps toward allowing farmers to grow hemp for industrial use under a measure Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law Monday. The new law taking effect later this month replaces a state program only for researching hemp and its potential uses with a program for commercial production. Lawmakers authorized the research program last year after federal farm legislation allowed commercial hemp production.The new law requires the Kansas Department of Agriculture to submit a plan to the federal government for regulating commercial hemp production.
Midwest Farmers Suffer After Floods: ‘I Got My Life in This Ground’
Pew Trust | Posted onApril 18, 2019 in Agriculture NewsFrom the top of a lookout point on a clear day here, Joe Keithley could see the Missouri River spill over its banks into three states: Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Underwater farmland stretched to the horizon in all directions. He used binoculars to zoom in on 1,700 acres of his family farm in Missouri. “Looks like one of our grain bins is tipped over,” said Keithley, 57. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath.Midwestern states have been battered with intensive flooding since mid-March.
Thousands of Saplings – and They’re About to Plant More
Good News Network | Posted onApril 18, 2019 in NewsMillions of acres of degraded landscapes can be brought back to life thanks to these drones. A tech company called BioCarbon Engineering has been using the flying robots to plant trees on a massive scale. The drones, which were developed by an ex-NASA engineer, are designed to fire off pre-germinated seed pods into the ground.The drones have been shown to plant trees exponentially faster than locals being forced to plant them by hand, and the method is far cheaper than traditional planting methods.
New Ag Census Provides Better Picture of Family Farm Agriculture, NFU Says
NFU | Posted onApril 18, 2019 in NewsThe U.S.
University of Arizona trying to open the state's first public veterinary school in Oro Valley
Arizona Central | Posted onApril 18, 2019 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsArizona students could have a public university option to study veterinary medicine as soon as next year, if the University of Arizona's plan for a new program is approved by accreditors. A new college for veterinary medicine would open and begin enrolling students by fall 2020 under the university's plan.UA has worked to open a veterinary-medicine program for several years, but so far hasn't convinced the accrediting body, the American Veterinary Medical Association's Council on Education, to bless it.
Vaccines do not cause autism in pets
KREM | Posted onApril 18, 2019 in Agriculture NewsThe anti-vaccine movement has come for pets. In fact, the spreading fear of side effects from pet vaccines led the British Veterinary Association to issue a statement that dogs cannot develop autism from them.
Ag census shows ag of the middle continues to shrink
Bee Culture | Posted onApril 18, 2019 in Agriculture News“The 2017 Census of Agriculture puts hard data behind what American farmers and farmer advocates have known for some time – if we don’t invest in beginning farmers and the advancement of our family farms, and if we don’t put checks on increasing consolidation in agriculture, we’re going to be at risk of losing the ag of the middle entirely,” said Juli Obudzinski, NSAC Interim Policy Director. “Seventy five percent of all agricultural sales are now coming from just five percent of operations.
Farmland Values Currently Steady Economic Concerns- But Potential for Declines Exist
Farm Policy News | Posted onApril 18, 2019 in Agriculture NewsRecent news items from the Corn Belt point to several economic challenges facing producers as spring planting approaches. Nonetheless, relatively steady farmland values continue to be a bright spot. But a recent update from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City noted that: “If farmland sales continue to increase in 2019 alongside persistently low agricultural commodity prices and higher interest rates, farmland values could decline further.”