AgClips
Recent AgClips
Washington Dept. of Ag report identifies ‘gaps’ in dairy manure rules
Capital Press | Posted onJuly 13, 2017 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsWashington’s oversight of dairies could be toughened by stiffer penalties and more control over manure exported to other farms, according to a new Washington State Department of Agriculture report.
How cats and cows protect farm children from asthma
Science Daily | Posted onJuly 13, 2017 in Agriculture, Rural NewsIt is a known fact that microbes on farms protect children from asthma and allergies. But even non-microbial molecules can have a protective effect. Immunologists have shown that a sialic acid found in farm animals is effective against inflammation of lung tissue. This study opens up a wide variety of perspectives for the prevention of allergies.
Russian ban on EU, U.S. produce extended
The Packer | Posted onJuly 13, 2017 in Federal NewsA Russian government news release says the ban, first enacted in August 2014, includes products from the U.S., European Union member countries, and Canada, Australia, Norway, Ukraine, Albania, Montenegro, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The ban had been set to expire Jan. 1, but Russia extended it after the EU extended its trade sanctions on Russia through Jan. 31.Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in a news release that the policy of mutual economic restrictions “does not have a future.”
MO:Local health department can’t regulate hog farm, judge rules
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onJuly 13, 2017 in NewsA judge in northwest Missouri has ruled that the Andrew County Health Department’s regulation of a large hog farming operation is invalid and not enforceable. Circuit Judge Randall Jackson ruled that Missouri statutes don’t authorize the county health department to pass an ordinance regulating the operation of concentrated animal farming operations, even for health-related purposes, the News-Press reported. Only county commissions have the authority to pass such regulatory ordinances, and then only in accordance with Missouri law, the judge said.
Vertical farming startup RoBotany sets up in old Pittsburgh steel mill
Trib Live | Posted onJuly 13, 2017 in Agriculture NewsRobots could grow your next salad inside an old steel mill on Pittsburgh's South Side. And the four co-founders of the robotic, indoor, vertical farming startup RoBotany could next tackle growing the potatoes for the french fries to top it.“We're techies, but we have green thumbs,” said Austin Webb, one of the startup's co-founders.It's hard to imagine a farm inside the former Republic Steel and later Follansbee Steel Corp. building on Bingham Street. During World War II, the plant produced steel for artillery guns and other military needs.
We must do more to protect our farms from terror threats
Des Moines Register | Posted onJuly 13, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal, SARL Members and Alumni NewsLess than four years later, however, after U.S. special forces raided an al-Qaida cave complex in eastern Afghanistan and found documents on sabotaging American farms through the intentional introduction of diseases that could infect livestock and crops, securing our nation’s food supply became a government priority. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security, which was created in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was charged with implementing a series of Homeland Security Presidential Directives to safeguard agriculture.
Robots, artificial intelligence and automation are reshaping Iowa's workforce. Is your job at risk?
Des Moines Register | Posted onJuly 13, 2017 in Agriculture NewsIf one machine goes down inside the Country Maid plant, the whole operation devoted to churning out Butter Braid pastries comes to a screeching halt.
US government agrees to help Maine wild blueberry industry
The Seattle Times | Posted onJuly 13, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe federal government is again trying to prop up the wild blueberry industry in Maine, where sagging prices jeopardize one of the state’s longest-standing agricultural industries. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved up to $10 million to purchase surplus Maine blueberries, the members of Maine’s congressional delegation said. Wild blueberries are one of the most important crops in Maine, but the industry is struggling with a steep decline in the prices paid to farmers.
U.S. officials say Russian government hackers have penetrated energy and nuclear company business networks
The Washington Post | Posted onJuly 13, 2017 in Energy NewsRussian government hackers were behind recent cyber-intrusions into the business systems of U.S. nuclear power and other energy companies in what appears to be an effort to assess their networks, according to U.S. government officials. The U.S. officials said there is no evidence the hackers breached or disrupted the core systems controlling operations at the plants, so the public was not at risk.
Single beetle may have brought lethal tree disease now across Southeast
SFGate | Posted onJuly 13, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA lone female fungus-farming beetle inadvertently imported to Georgia may have been the source of a disease that has killed some 300 million redbay trees and threatens Florida's avocado groves, researchers from Mississippi and Florida say. Clones of the beetle and her fungus have spread west into Texas and north to North Carolina over the past 15 years