AgClips
Recent AgClips
US ag equipment manufacturers eye Cuba before rules change
KTIC Radio | Posted onNovember 9, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsU.S. manufacturers appear to be racing the clock before the Trump administration tightens economic relations between the U.S. and Cuba. Over the last week, both John Deere and Caterpillar announced agreements with the Cuban government that might let the two Illinois-based companies sell farm tractors and other heavy equipment on the island. The occasion for this rush of activity was the annual Havana International Fair, Cuba’s largest commercial fair.
The first non-browning, genetically modified apple is shipping to US groceries
Quartz | Posted onNovember 9, 2017 in Food NewsA new biotech apple is about to hit grocery stores across the US as the country’s first harvest of the genetically modified (GM) fruit ships from orchards in Washington state. Unlike regular apples, this new variation on the fruit, commonly called the “Arctic apple,” does not brown when cut and exposed to oxygen. It will be sold as a sliced apple product in 10-ounce bags, available at 400 Midwest grocery stores early this month, according to Bloomberg.The Arctic apple, owned by Canada-based Okanagan Specialty Fruits, isn’t a new invention.
Robot Farm: How farms are planting the seeds of technological progress
WAOW | Posted onNovember 9, 2017 in Agriculture NewsAutomation isn’t limited to the dairy. It its taking root in nearly every system onboard combine harvesters and tractors. The mechanized behemoths kick up dust across Indiana’s 14.7 million acres of farmland each autumn. As they rumble over the row crops, combines are tracking every soy bean pod or ear of corn they take in. Crop productivity data is harvested and sent to the farmer. The machines use signals from GPS satellites high above the Earth, to pinpoint their location and drive themselves with precision.
Robot Farm: How farms are planting the seeds of technological progress
WAOW | Posted onNovember 9, 2017 in Agriculture NewsAutomation isn’t limited to the dairy. It its taking root in nearly every system onboard combine harvesters and tractors. The mechanized behemoths kick up dust across Indiana’s 14.7 million acres of farmland each autumn. As they rumble over the row crops, combines are tracking every soy bean pod or ear of corn they take in. Crop productivity data is harvested and sent to the farmer. The machines use signals from GPS satellites high above the Earth, to pinpoint their location and drive themselves with precision.
A Wyoming county pursues a private immigration jail
High Country News | Posted onNovember 9, 2017 in Rural NewsUinta County officials have endorsed a private company’s proposal to build a for-profit immigration jail near Evanston, Wyoming. Both Evanston’s city council and Uinta County’s commission unanimously passed resolutions in June to support the Management Training Corporation’s plan to build and manage an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center just outside Evanston city limits.
WHO:Stop using antibiotics in healthy animals to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance
World Health Organization | Posted onNovember 9, 2017 in Agriculture NewsWHO is recommending that farmers and the food industry stop using antibiotics routinely to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals. The new WHO recommendations aim to help preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics that are important for human medicine by reducing their unnecessary use in animals. In some countries, approximately 80% of total consumption of medically important antibiotics is in the animal sector, largely for growth promotion in healthy animals.
‘Ponce’s Law’ bill allows animal abusers to be barred from having pets
Daytona Beach New Journal | Posted onNovember 9, 2017 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsA bill called “Ponce’s Law” would put more bite into Florida’s animal cruelty cases by allowing judges to prohibit people convicted of abusing animals from owning pets and giving prosecutors more leverage in the cases, said state Rep. Tom Leek, who introduced the bill. The bill is named in honor of Ponce, a Labrador retriever puppy found beaten to death in the Ponce Inlet backyard of Travis Archer earlier this year. The bill is a positive note to an otherwise grim event, said Leek, an Ormond Beach Republican.
Cost Benefits of Switching to Solar: A State-by-State Guide
The Simple Dollar | Posted onNovember 9, 2017 in Energy NewsThe advantages of solar power and other renewable energy sources are colossal, and arguably necessary for our survival. On solar, the electric grid becomes more efficient and resilient to natural disasters (including hail) and disruptions — not to mention scalable to the 1.3 billion people on our planet living without electricity. On solar, power becomes cleaner, moving us that much closer toward the net zero goal advocated by climate researchers. But the benefits don’t stop there. Solar costs are falling.
FDA Announces Withdrawal of Draft Guidance for Industry Regarding Animal Drug Compounding
FDA | Posted onNovember 9, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration is withdrawing draft Guidance for Industry (GFI) #230, “Compounding Animal Drugs from Bulk Drug Substances” in order to clarify that the agency does not plan to finalize the current draft, but instead intends to issue a new draft for public comment next year.
Peak oil? Majors aren't buying into the threat from renewables
Reuters | Posted onNovember 9, 2017 in Energy NewsTwo decades ago, BP set out to transcend oil, adopting a sunburst logo to convey its plans to pour $8 billion over a decade into renewable technologies, even promising to power its gas stations with the sun. That transformation - marketed as “Beyond Petroleum” - led to manufacturing solar panels in Australia, Spain and the United States and erecting wind farms in the United States and the Netherlands. Today, BP might be more aptly branded “Back to Petroleum” after exiting or scaling back its renewable energy investments.