AgClips
Recent AgClips
Carbon farming works. Can it scale up in time?
Civil eats | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in Agriculture NewsOver the last two years, the Estills have started checking off items from a long list of potential changes recommended in a thorough carbon plan they created in 2016 with the help of the Fibershed project and Jeffrey Creque, founder of the Carbon Cycle Institute (CCI). The plan lists steps the ranchers can take to create carbon sinks on their property.
Dairy farms find a lifeline: beer
The New York Times | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in News“We’re at a historic low nationwide in terms of farmers getting money for their milk,” said Sean DuBois, who works in the family business. Prices have cratered, driven by high supply and falling demand. For Carter & Stevens, staying solvent required creative thinking. “To succeed today as a dairy farm, you need to diversify,” Mr. DuBois said. “We found our passion for craft beer.” The farm opened Stone Cow Brewery in 2016, making beers like the Roll in the Hay I.P.A., which sells for $7 a pint at its taproom.
A stampede of meatless products overrun grocery store meat cases
The Wall Street Journal | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in Food NewsThe “Beyond Meat” patties that offended Mr. Kendig were made with pea protein, canola oil, coconut oil, potato starch and “natural flavor.” They’re part of a posse of look-alikes invading meat country—from plant-based burgers that ooze “blood” at first bite to chicken strips grown in a tank from poultry cells.
Trump's Canadian dairy program
DTN | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in Agriculture NewsPresident Donald Trump's tirade on Twitter over the weekend aimed at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has elevated dairy trade between the two countries to the top political issue in Canada.Dairy was once considered a lower-rung issue in the North American Free Trade Agreement talks, but President Trump tied high Canadian dairy tariffs to his own push for steel and aluminum tariffs. The U.S. held a dairy trade surplus with Canada in 2017 that ran anywhere from $113 million to $521 million, depending on the math of different agencies and trade associations. Canada and the U.S.
Why Iowans should care about antitrust enforcement
Des Moines Register | Posted onJune 12, 2018 in Agriculture NewsBut in 2012, ProSoy sold its germplasm assets to Bayer, the German agrochemical giant. Bayer was playing catch-up; its rivals such as Monsanto were already on an extended buying spree. From 2005 to 2007, Monsanto alone gobbled up more than two dozen smaller seed companies. Fast-forward to today. The giants are now consuming each other. During another three-year frenzy, agriculture’s Big Six have all merged or been acquired. ChemChina bought Syngenta. Dow and DuPont merged. And Bayer and Monsanto recently received final U.S. antitrust approval to merge.
New Mexico official: Texans are 'stealing' water and selling it back for fracking
The Texas Tribune | Posted onJune 11, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsAfter you head northeast on Ranch Road 652 from tiny Orla, it’s easy to miss the precise moment you leave Texas and cross into New Mexico. The sign just says “Lea County Line,” and with 254 counties in Texas, you’d be forgiven for not knowing there isn’t one named Lea. But the folks who are selling water over it know exactly where the line is. That’s because on the Texas side, where the “rule of capture” rules groundwater policy, people basically can pump water from beneath their land to their heart’s content.
High-Speed Planter Wars
Janzen Ag Law Blog | Posted onJune 11, 2018 in Agriculture NewsJohn Deere recently filed suits in the Federal District Court of Delaware against AGCO and Precision Planting, claiming their high-speed planting technologies infringe on Deere's ExactEmerge planter patents. What are Deere's claims against Precision Planting and AGCO? What are the possible outcomes? One outcome is that Precision Planting and AGCO prevail, meaning nothing changes.Another outcome is that Deere prevails. If so, the court would award Deere damages that flow from the patent infringement (such as lost profits on sales).
Senate Ag Committee releases draft of Farm Bill
U.S. Senate Ag Committee | Posted onJune 11, 2018 in Federal NewsThis is the draft of the Senate Agricuture Committee Farm Bill
Ohio Legislature approves orphan well plugging bill
Farm and Dairy | Posted onJune 11, 2018 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsOhio landowners who have an idle or orphaned well on their property may have a greater chance of getting some relief, following recent votes by the state legislature. The House and Senate both voted in favor of H.B. 225 — a bill that requires the Department of Natural Resources to spend at least 30 percent of the state’s Oil and Gas Well Fund on plugging orphan wells.The bill appropriates a total of $15 million for plugging wells in fiscal year 2019, an increase of $7 million.
Mars Is Betting Greener Chocolate Bars Will Be Great for Profit
Bloomberg | Posted onJune 11, 2018 in Food NewsMars Inc., the maker of its namesake chocolate bar and Wrigley’s chewing gum, is spending $1 billion on sustainability with a strategy to make greener practices increase profits. Mars is working to reduce its exposure to environmental, social and governance risks, known as ESG, because it’s next to impossible to track exactly where the huge amounts of raw materials that it uses are from, according to Parkin. The company buys 0.2 percent of the world’s palm oil, sourcing it from thousands of mills.