AgClips
Recent AgClips
After mistrial, here’s what’s next in Bundy case
Capital Press | Posted onDecember 26, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA mistrial marked a major step this week in favor of a family of ranchers accused of leading armed standoffs in two states to oppose U.S. control of vast stretches of land in the American West.
WSDA acts on goal to radio tag all cows
Capital Press | Posted onDecember 26, 2017 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe Washington State Department of Agriculture made the first formal move Wednesday to electronically follow every cow in the state from birth to slaughter. The department indicated it will propose replacing metal ID tags with radio-frequency identification, or RFID, on tens of thousands of cows.
Farmer, landowners fined $618,000 for drawing from Odessa aquifer
Capital Press | Posted onDecember 26, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA Grant County, Wash., farmer and the landowners he leased fields from have been fined a total of $618,000 by the state Department of Ecology for illegally drawing from the shrinking Odessa aquifer to irrigate 530 acres this year. Ecology alleges that Ron Fode continued to irrigate after he and the landowners were told more than once last spring to stop.“This isn’t fair to other irrigators who follow the law or to local communities and rural landowners who depend on this groundwater for their drinking water,” Ecology water resources manager Mary Verner said in a written statement.
California issues 1st licenses for legal pot market
Capital Press | Posted onDecember 26, 2017 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsCalifornia’s legal marijuana market is finally, fitfully, taking shape. The state on Thursday issued the first batch of business licenses to sell and transport recreational-use pot, just 18 days before legal sales will begin on Jan.
Microchipping Law Looks to Help Reunite Lost Pets With Owners
My Twin Tiers | Posted onDecember 26, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThere's a new law in New York that looks to help reunite lost pets with their owners. A New York law that went into effect this week requires that all animal shelters, rescue groups and other organizations that take in found pets check to see if the animal has a microchip in them.
Louisiana agriculture chief unveils new mobile pet shelter for floods, emergencies
The Times Picayune | Posted onDecember 26, 2017 in Agriculture, Rural NewsLouisiana's agriculture department has unveiled its second mobile pet shelter for emergencies. It's similar to one rolled out during the 2015 hurricane season. The new unit is a 48-foot transport truck equipped with up to 55 metal cages, feed, water bowls and a wash down system. It has an air ventilation system to provide proper air circulation and temperature for the pets.The agriculture department can accommodate up to 3,000 pets at established mega pet shelters.
Decline of Rural Lending Crimps Small-Town Business
Wall Street Journal | Posted onDecember 26, 2017 in Rural NewsThe financial fabric of rural America is fraying. Even as lending revives around cities, it is drying up in small communities. In-person banking, crucial to many small businesses, is disappearing as banks consolidate and close rural branches. Bigger banks have been swallowing community banks and gravitating toward the business of making larger loans. The decline of community banks has disproportionately affected rural U.S. counties, where relationship banking plays an outsize role. There are now 625 rural counties without a community bank based in the county.
No, agriculture won't be quiet, Mr. Ross
Ag Web | Posted onDecember 23, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsAs the NAFTA negotiations have stalled, farmers and ranchers in Canada, the United States and Mexico have grown increasingly concerned that this free trade deal is in jeopardy. They’ve been voicing their concerns, to the point where U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross argued U.S. agriculture groups and farmers were complicating the NAFTA trade negotiation process by speaking up, basically telling the farm community to be quiet. “As one special interest group, say agriculture, for example, gets nervous, they start screaming and yelling publicly.
Mobile slaughterhouse success may bring permanent facility
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onDecember 23, 2017 in Agriculture, Rural NewsThe operators of a cooperative mobile slaughterhouse in Hawaii are considering a plan to open two meatpacking facilities on the Big Island next year, according to local media reports. Mike Amado, president of the cooperative that launched in April, said the mobile operation has processed more than 7,000 pounds of beef, 5,000 pounds of pork, 1,000 pounds of lamb and sheep meat and about 500 pounds of goat meat through November.
Pennsylvania: Agriculture Department Offers Training to Help Farms Produce Food Safely, Prevent Foodborne Illness
NASDA | Posted onDecember 21, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal, Food NewsAgriculture Secretary Russell Redding today announced that the department will sponsor a series of training programs across the state to help farmers grow produce safely, prevent foodborne illness, and comply with new federal standards. The series of one-day training sessions will be held between January and March at seven different locations throughout the state.