AgClips
Recent AgClips
Virginia Governor announces new initiative to bring high speed internet to rural areas
Gordan River | Posted onJuly 5, 2018 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsGov. Ralph Northam arrived to announce a new broadband initiative to improve internet services in rural areas. Northam said Virginia used to be ranked No. 1 as the state in which to do business nationwide, but has fallen down the list in recent years. “One reason for that is lack of broadband,” Northam said, particularly in rural areas.
China is trying to downplay a brewing trade war with the US by censoring comments from Trump and US authorities
Business Insider | Posted onJuly 5, 2018 in Federal NewsChina has ordered state media not to report on comments from President Donald Trump or US officials because of the trade conflict. China told its media to not "attack Trump's vulgarity," and instead said to use state-sanctioned experts and promote "economic brightspots" by using "important page placement." The notice indicates how China is trying to shield its citizens from news of trade escalations with the US.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue endorses work requirements for food assistance
The Spokesman-Review | Posted onJuly 5, 2018 in Agriculture, Federal NewsCongress is preparing to reconcile two versions of the farm bill, a sweeping piece of legislation renewed every five years that governs an array of agricultural and food assistance programs, including SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Once known as food stamps, SNAP helps nearly 44 million Americans – mostly children, working parents, the elderly and people with disabilities – afford a basic diet each month. While the Senate version of the farm bill would mostly leave SNAP intact through 2023, the House version, which was backed by Rep.
CDC: Canal Water Started the Yuma-linked E. coli Outbreak
Growing Produce | Posted onJuly 5, 2018 in Food NewsThe Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that it and partner agencies had made breakthroughs in its investigation of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, linked to romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma-AZ area. The contamination stems from canal water, presumably used by multiple farms, since FDA also announced the tainted romaine was grown in several farms in the region.CDC, FDA, local and state agencies are still investigating how the canals came to be contaminated.
RFA: Drivers Would Save 6 Cents per Gallon on E15
DTN | Posted onJuly 5, 2018 in Energy NewsThough gasoline prices are higher than last year heading into the Fourth of July holiday, a new Renewable Fuels Association analysis found that E10, or 10% ethanol-blended gasoline, is saving consumers at the pump.According to AAA, a record 39.7 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more by automobile for the holiday. That is a 5% increase from more than one year ago. The RFA said those drivers will be paying at least 12% less for gasoline -- or 26 cents per gallon -- because of ethanol.
Honeybees finding it harder to eat at America's bee hot spot
ABC News | Posted onJuly 5, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA new federal study finds bees are having a much harder time finding food in America's last honeybee refuge. The country's hot spot for commercial beekeeping is the Northern Great Plains of the Dakotas and neighboring areas, where more than 1 million colonies spend their summer feasting on pollen and nectar from wildflowers and other plants. Clint Otto of the U.S. Geological Survey calculates that from 2006 to 2016, more than half the conservation land within a mile of bee colonies was converted into agriculture, usually row crops like soybeans and corn. Those don't feed bees.
New suit against Mountaire includes wrongful death claim
Watt Ag Net | Posted onJuly 5, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA new lawsuit has been filed against Mountaire Farms concerning the poultry company’s wastewater and sludge contamination issues around its complex in Millsboro, Delaware, and included in that lawsuit is a wrongful death allegation.
Indiana resident catches rare form of flu following exposure to pigs at a county fair
Indy Star | Posted onJuly 5, 2018 in Rural NewsState health officials are warning Hoosiers to take preventative measures this fair season, after an Indiana resident caught the influenza virus following a visit to a county fair. This is the first human case of the H3N2 influenza in the Indiana since 2013, and first case reported nationwide this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Trade disputes get real as Trump delays move on NAFTA decision
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onJuly 5, 2018 in Federal NewsThe U.S. agricultural industry is now formally on the receiving end of tariffs on a variety of fronts, even as President Trump said he will wait until after the November midterm elections to sign any new form of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Prospects for a new NAFTA agreement remain stalled as President Trump told Fox News this weekend he is “not happy” with the revised proposal and doesn’t want to sign any new pact until after November’s midterm elections. “I want to make it more fair,” Trump said on the broadcast.
Podcast: Ticking Debt Bomb
Roll Call | Posted onJuly 5, 2018 in Federal NewsThe Congressional Budget Office recently issued an alarming report on the nation's debt outlook, which CQ senior budget reporter Paul M. Krawzak says should worry millennials. The US debt burden is set to break records in early 2030s