AgClips
Recent AgClips
World’s cheapest solar power to be generated in Mexico
inhabitat | Posted onNovember 21, 2017 in Energy NewsThe clean energy projects recently approved by Mexico will be online and selling power by 2020. These projects and others are important steps towards meeting Mexico’s goals under the Paris agreement as well as regional goals established by Mexico, the United States, and Canada. In 2016, all three countries pledged to source 50 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2025. Canada is on track to meet this goal while Mexico continues to build up its renewable portfolio.
22 fishing boats pulled off water in federal crackdown on Codfather fraud racket
Mass Live | Posted onNovember 21, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsFederal regulators effectively pulled 22 active commercial fishing boats off Northeastern waters Monday after determining many of the vessels -- a good deal owned by "Codfather" Carlos Rafael -- were failing to accurately record catches. The ruling, deemed "huge" and "unprecedented" by The Boston Globe, could hamstring many businesses in the Massachusetts fishing industry, in particular icehouses, fuel companies and others that supply boats.
Lawmakers Push Alcohol Tax Cut Despite Rising Drinking Rates
Roll Call | Posted onNovember 21, 2017 in Federal NewsDeaths linked to alcohol are significantly more common than drug overdose deaths, but lawmakers may promote more drinking through a two-year tax break for producers of beer, wine and spirits as part of the Senate’s tax code overhaul. The tax break, for 2018 and 2019, would save alcohol producers $4.2 billion, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. The provisions in the Senate Finance Committee’s tax plan were requested by Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, but are based on a bill from Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the committee’s top Democrat.
Concentrated Poverty Increased in Both Rural and Urban Areas Since 2000, Reversing Declines in the 1990s
University of New Hampshire, Carsey School | Posted onNovember 21, 2017 in Rural NewsThe number of nonmetropolitan counties with high poverty rates increased between the 2000 Decennial Census and 2011–2015 (hereafter 2013) American Community Survey (ACS), and so did the share of the rural population residing in these disadvantaged areas. Over this time period, the percentage of rural counties with poverty rates of 20 percent or more increased from a fifth to nearly one-third, and the share of the rural population living in these places nearly doubled to over 31 percent.
Raw milk firm linked to Brucella illness in New Jersey
edairynews | Posted onNovember 21, 2017 in Agriculture, Food NewsUdder Milk’s product has been linked to one illness. A North Jersey woman tested positive for Brucella RB51 infection but has recovered. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department’s Public Health and Food Protection Program, with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, are investigating to determine the suppliers.
Give Thanks for Our Nation's Farmers
Farm Policy Facts | Posted onNovember 21, 2017 in Agriculture NewsWhen you sit down at the family dinner table this Thanksgiving and count your many blessings, be sure to take a moment to acknowledge the contributions of our nation’s farmers. From the corn to the cranberries, and the sweet potatoes to the pumpkin pie, it is the hard work of farmers that make the meal possible.Just look at the production numbers for some of the more popular Thanksgiving staples:Sweet Corn: 7.4 billion pounds. Green Beans: 2 billion pounds. Cranberries: 1.3 billion pounds. Potatoes: 4.4 billion pounds. Pumpkin: 1.6 billion pounds. Sweet Potatoes: 3.2 billion pounds.
Nebraska clears path for Keystone XL pipeline, challenges remain
Reuters | Posted onNovember 21, 2017 in Energy NewsNebraska regulators approved a route for TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL pipeline through the state on Monday, removing a big regulatory obstacle for the long-delayed project backed by President Donald Trump, but leaving its future shrouded in legal and market uncertainty.
Trump proposes USDA farm research cuts to pay for storm aid
| Posted onNovember 21, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe Trump administration would pay for hurricane relief in part by cutting conservation and research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—an idea that's running into a roadblock from advocates for those programs. In its $44 billion request for supplemental appropriations to respond to this year's storms and wildfires, the administration proposed to eliminate all $212 million in funding for improvements to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) buildings and facilities, as well as $1.4 billion from various conservation programs.
NY: Cuomo offering free admission at state parks on Black Friday
New York Daily News | Posted onNovember 21, 2017 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsGov. Cuomo is offering New Yorkers a less costly way to spend Black Friday than shopping — visiting a state park. Cuomo announced Friday that state parks will have free admission on the day after Thanksgiving and will host various family friendly events and programs throughout the holiday weekend.
Florida let hepatitis C go untreated in prisons. Now it may cost taxpayers millions.
Miami Herald | Posted onNovember 21, 2017 in Rural NewsThe state of Florida may have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in treatment costs to as many as 20,000 sick inmates after a federal judge ruled that prison officials had failed to properly care for felons infected with the hepatitis C virus. The ruling, by U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker, requires the Florida Department of Corrections to immediately treat a significant portion of the state’s 98,000 inmates who test positive for the viral infection with direct acting antiviral drugs, a 12-week treatment that now costs about $37,000 per patient.