AgClips
Recent AgClips
U.S. per capita disappearance of red meat and poultry is expected to reach record levels in 2018
USDA | Posted onJune 13, 2018 in Food NewsPer capita red meat and poultry disappearance (the amount used in domestic markets, including fresh and processed meat sold through grocery stores and used in restaurants) is expected to reach record highs in 2018, eclipsing the previous high in 2007. Based on USDA forecasts, in 2018, Americans will have access to 222.4 pounds of red meat and poultry on a per capita retail weight basis. Average annual per capita disappearance of beef decreased 0.3 percent annually from 2000 to 2015 but has increased since 2016 and is expected to grow by 3.7 percent in 2018.
California can't require warning labels for glyphosate, judge affirms
Agri-Pulse | Posted onJune 13, 2018 in Food Newsalifornia cannot require companies to place warning labels on glyphosate products, a federal judge affirmed in a ruling issued Tuesday that questions the benefits of Proposition 65, which is meant to inform the state’s residents about cancer-causing chemicals. “Given the evidence in the record, the court questions whether California has shown that requiring a Proposition 65 warning for glyphosate directly advances the law’s stated interest in informing Californians about exposures to chemicals that cause cancer,” U.S.
One in every 5 deaths in young adults is opioid-related in the United States
Science Daily | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in Rural NewsProportion of deaths that are opioid-related has increased by nearly 300 percent in 15 years
Wisconsin quarantines deer, elk farms after CWD positives
Minnesota Star Tribune | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in Rural NewsWisconsin officials have quarantined a deer farm and an elk farm after animals on both properties tested positive for chronic wasting disease. The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced the quarantines Friday. The agency said in a news release that the National Veterinary Laboratory confirmed Thursday that a 15-year-old whitetail doe and a 2-year-old elk cow tested positive. The deer farm is located in Dane and registered to Brad Madigan. The elk farm, registered as Burton Buck Creek Elk, is in Richland Center.
NC bills aim to establish teaching hospitals in rural areas
Winston Salem Journal | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsBipartisan bills have been submitted in the state House and Senate that aim to address two major socioeconomic issues facing rural community hospitals.House Bill 998 would direct the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to make recommendations by Oct. 1 for establishing incentives to expand medical education in rural counties.That would include assisting rural hospitals with gaining Medicare approval to become a teaching hospital, as well as incentivize medical residents and students to serve those rural areas after graduation.
Arkansas won't lift dicamba ban for farmers
KASU | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in Agriculture NewsArkansas officials have denied a request by some farmers to lift the state's ban on in-crop dicamba use.
Lawmakers Join Forces in Bipartisan Attempt to End USDA Kitten Testing
Roll Call | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in Federal NewsKittens and cupcakes in the Rayburn building caused a buzz Thursday among staffers and interns, but the reason for their presence was anything but a cute ball of fluff. For the past 50 years, the Department of Agriculture has been forcing 100 kittens each year to eat toxoplasma-infected raw meat to test their stool, according to Michigan Republican Rep. Mike Bishop. The parasite causes toxoplasmosis and is found only in cat feces, putting the brunt of these experiments on kittens.
For a small Colorado utility, 100% renewable energy is old news
Energy News | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in Energy, Rural NewsAspen Electric, the municipal utility serving the resort town of the same name, achieved 100 percent renewables in 2015, and it didn’t break the bank to do so. Residential rates for Aspen’s customers rank among the lowest in Colorado, while meeting a 100 percent renewable energy goal set by Aspen’s city council 13 years earlier. And this month, upgrades to a Nebraska wind farm, of which Aspen Electric is a major customer, will push the utility’s costs even lower – dropping about 15 percent annually, or $475,000.
Assistant to the Secretary Anne Hazlett Statement on Stop Youth Opioid Abuse Campaign
USDA | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in Rural NewsAssistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett issued the following statement: “Leaving no community untouched, the opioid epidemic has taken a monumental toll on many of the small towns and rural places that are the heartbeat of our country. The campaign to Stop Youth Opioid Abuse shows that at the root of this crisis, addiction is a disease driving good people to make shocking and destructive decisions. Addressing the opioid epidemic is a top priority for this Administration.
The last thing America's dairy farmers need is a trade war with Mexico
The Hill | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in Federal Newsesides providing healthy and affordable food, dairy farmers are the backbone of a substantial contributor to the U.S. economy. America’s dairy products industry creates an economic ripple effect that is responsible for $24.9 billion in state and local business tax revenues and $39.5 billion in federal business tax revenues. It supports nearly three million workers, generates more than $39 billion in direct wages and has an overall economic impact of more than $628 billion. But this year, June has our dairy farmers more than a little on edge.