AgClips
Recent AgClips
The dark side of Trump’s much-hyped China trade deal: It could literally make you sick
The Washington Post | Posted onJuly 8, 2017 in Federal, Food NewsThe first known shipment of cooked chicken from China reached the United States last week, following a much-touted trade deal between the Trump administration and the Chinese government. But consumer groups and former food-safety officials are warning that the chicken could pose a public health risk, arguing that China has made only minor progress in overhauling a food safety regime that produced melamine-laced infant formula and deadly dog biscuits.
Mexico is no longer no. 1 U.S corn-buyer after trade tensions
Bloomberg | Posted onJuly 8, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsMexico is no longer the biggest buyer of corn from the U.S., a sign that trade tensions are pushing American grain toward other markets while its southern neighbor lines up new suppliers. Sales to Mexico through May were $1.04 billion, down 6.7 percent from a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday in a monthly update. That contrasts with the 32 percent increase for the overall value of U.S. corn exports in the period, during which the average dollar value of the commodity was little changed.
Egg prices are at a record low, and nobody’s buying cage-free
| Posted onJuly 8, 2017 in Agriculture, Food NewsWell it’s been a long two years, and our egg windfall is leading to the cheapest egg prices in at least a decade, according to a recent USDA report. This news is a sad trombone for cage-free egg producers, who’ve been having a tough time selling their higher-priced wares. The CEO of Cal-Maine Foods—America’s largest egg producer—bemoaned the cage-free surplus at a conference in early June.
The California drought isn’t over, it just went underground
High Country News | Posted onJuly 8, 2017 in Rural NewsEvelyn Rios wept in 2014 when the well went dry at her home of 46 years – the home where she and husband Joe raised five children on farm-worker wages. They cannot afford another well, so they do without. Her angst only grew as California’s five-year drought dragged on. Finally, after one of the wettest winters on record, Gov. Jerry Brown announced in April that the drought had ended. But situation remains grim, says Rios, 80, who lives in rural Madera County in California’s San Joaquin Valley. She thought she was being hooked up to the city of Madera’s water system.
. Extreme heat broils the Dakotas and Montana; flash drought takes toll on wheat crop
The Washington Post | Posted onJuly 8, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA massive and intense heat dome has spread over the northern Plains and mountain West, sucking moisture out of the soil, and may persist for weeks. The scorching heat and absence of rain have spurred a rapidly intensifying drought that is decimating the region’s wheat crop. Temperatures in Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas surged into the 90s and 100s on Wednesday, about 15 to 20 degrees above normal. Forecast models predict the same general weather pattern that supported this heat to persist up to two more weeks.
EPA Sets 2018 Ethanol Volumes at Statutory Maximum
National Chicken Council | Posted onJuly 8, 2017 in Energy NewsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday proposed once again to keep the mandated volume for conventional ethanol use for 2018 at the statutory maximum of 15 billion gallons. In proposing this level, EPA has breached the 10-percent blend wall and will continue to subsidize the over production of ethanol, far in excess of the statutory maximum, which will divert corn from America’s food and feed use to foreign energy markets.
Dog and cat treat trends follow human snacking trends
Pet Food Industry | Posted onJuly 8, 2017 in Agriculture NewsMany pet owners, as we know, like to pamper their pets by feeding dog or cat treats – and increasingly, as they are aware of health and wellness, with treats that offer health or functional benefits. A new study from Mintel reveals that for US consumers, these behaviors may mimic their own snacking habits. The top reason these American consumers gave for snacking is to treat themselves; 50 percent said so.
Multiple States Ban Dicamba
| Posted onJuly 8, 2017 in Agriculture NewsThe states of Arkansas and Missouri both took action Friday to ban the use of dicamba-mix herbicide applications in their respective states after waves of complaints from farmers who were not using the technology.
Antibiotic resistance linked to common household disinfectant triclosan
Science Daily | Posted onJuly 6, 2017 in Food NewsScientists have discovered a link between a major mechanism of antibiotic resistance and resistance to the disinfectant triclosan which is commonly found in domestic products.
The ‘Rewilding’ of a Century-Old Cranberry Bog
The New York Times | Posted onJuly 6, 2017 in Rural NewsScientists are turning a cranberry bog back into coastal wetland. The experiment is seen as a path for dormant bogs and another chance for vanishing habitat.