AgClips
Recent AgClips
Community college in Kansas to offer drone degree program
Kansas.com | Posted onJanuary 2, 2018 in NewsTwo higher education institutions in Kansas are partnering allow students to get a degree in drone-flying. Butler Community College announced on Tuesday its partnership with Kansas State University to offer an associate's degree in unmanned aircraft systems
Trump administration rescinding fracking rules on government land
Chicago Tribune | Posted onJanuary 2, 2018 in Energy NewsPresident Donald Trump's administration is rescinding proposed rules for hydraulic fracturing and other oil- and gas-drilling practices on government lands. The rules developed under President Barack Obama would have applied mainly in the West, where most federal lands are located. Companies would have had to disclose the chemicals used in fracking, which pumps pressurized water underground to break open hydrocarbon deposits.
Crop and Livestock Price Prospects for 2018
Farm Doc Daily | Posted onJanuary 2, 2018 in Agriculture NewsCrop prices will remain below the high levels seen in the early part of this decade due to large global inventories. Global economic growth continues to build on the momentum seen over the last year. Growth in China and emerging market in Asia is projected to remain strong throughout 2018. The prospects of improved growth support commodity demand, but the significant changes to trade policy could mitigate some of this demand growth in export markets.
Consumer perception of dairy cow care
Michigan State University | Posted onJanuary 2, 2018 in Agriculture NewsThe public often hears in the media and from special interest groups that animals are housed in poor conditions, treated poorly and forced to perform at high levels. But what do consumers think after they’ve toured a modern, and in some cases, very large modern dairy farm? Not what the media sometimes presents or what some special interest groups want people to believe.
7th person charged in teen forced labor case at Ohio egg farm
Fox News | Posted onJanuary 2, 2018 in Agriculture NewsA man accused of taking part in a scheme to smuggle teenagers into the U.S. and force them to work at an egg farm for little pay is in custody after being arrested at the Mexican border, federal prosecutors announced.
More schools participate in USDA Farm to School program
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onJanuary 2, 2018 in Agriculture, Federal NewsMore schools districts – and therefore more schoolchildren – are learning about healthy eating habits, and more schools would like to be able to source meats locally, according to the latest USDA Farm to School Census. More than 5,200 school districts and 57,600 schools participated in the program in 2015, which tracks local sourcing of food fed to schoolchildren during the course of the day.
Opinion: Avoiding GMOs isn’t just anti-science. It’s immoral.
The Washington Post | Posted onDecember 28, 2017 in Agriculture NewsAnd yet a concerted, deep-pockets campaign, as relentless as it is baseless, has persuaded a high percentage of Americans and Europeans to avoid GMO products, and to pay premium prices for “non-GMO” or “organic” foods that may in some cases be less safe and less nutritious. Thank goodness the toothpaste makers of the past weren’t cowed so easily; the tubes would have said “No fluoride inside!” and we’d all have many more cavities. This is the kind of foolishness that rich societies can afford to indulge.
President Trump says Christmas present is delivered and tax cuts will fuel US economy
DTN | Posted onDecember 28, 2017 in Federal NewsFarmers who receive income from pass-through entities will see a 20% deduction. The effective impact of a 37% tax rate and a 20% deduction for pass-through income would set a top tax rate on business income at 29.6%. The tax accounting firm K-Coe Isom suggested some business considerations for farmers as year-end tax strategies for the bill. One would be to defer income to next year and pay deductible expenses now, because depending on circumstances, farmers could have a lower tax rate for 2018.
Tough times in the heartland as some farmers hit by losses weigh exiting the business
CNBC | Posted onDecember 28, 2017 in Agriculture NewsThe U.S. Department of Agriculture is forecasting that cash receipts for corn and soybean farmers will be down in 2017. Yet it's a different story for some livestock farmers, especially those who raise hogs. Also, cattle feedlots were under pressure but have recovered in the past year."If you look at the general economy and the ag economy, they generally kind of historically have run countercyclical to one another," said Curt Hudnutt, Rabobank's St. Louis-based North America's head of rural banking. "While the U.S.
Agrium, PotashCorp merger will 'impact the entire industry,' including thousands of farmers: prof.
CBC News | Posted onDecember 28, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA mammoth merger between the world's largest potash producer and a major agricultural and chemical company is slated to close Jan. 1. The merger between PotashCorp and Agrium — which will combine to make Nutrien — received its final clearance. Nutrien will be the world's largest nutrient company and the third-largest natural resource company in Canada. Post-merger, approximately 20,000 people will work for the company in 18 countries, with the entire enterprise valued at $36 billion USD