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While Most Small Towns Languish, Some Flourish
Pew Charitable Trust | Posted onJuly 6, 2017 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsIn several Western and Southern states, small towns are growing quickly as fast-growing metro areas swallow up more outlying towns, according to a Stateline analysis of census estimates.Between 2015 and 2016, the growth was particularly strong in small towns in Utah, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Idaho, Delaware, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina and South Carolina, where small towns grew around 1 percent or more.During the same period, 54 percent of small towns across the U.S. lost population, and most others saw only limited growth.
41 PEDV positive sites confirmed in Canada
National Hog Farmer | Posted onJuly 6, 2017 in Agriculture NewsManitoba Pork Council confirms 41 positive operations identified in southeast Manitoba in the 2017 porcine epidemic diarrhea virus outbreak. So far, officials confirmed PEDV on 18 sow operations representing over 54,000 sows, seven nurseries representing just over 126,000 nursery spaces and 16 feeder operations representing just over 99,000 feeder spaces.
Iowa farmers and politicians 'disappointed' in EPA biofuel standard volume
KWQC | Posted onJuly 6, 2017 in Agriculture, Energy NewsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today the proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) for the 2018 conventional biofuels requirement at 15 billion gallons under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).The EPA lowered the amount of biofuel that must be used in the U.S. next year. It's the first ever reduction in volumes under the program.
Farm Bill Math Updated in New Congressional Budget Office Baseline
Farm Bureau | Posted onJuly 6, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe change in farm bill outlays is due to a variety of factors. First, price expectations for several covered commodities have changed due to different supply and demand conditions. For example, consider that record yields and larger domestic inventories have weakened corn prices in recent years and led to higher ARC-CO payments. CBO’s June 2017 projections are for marketing year average corn prices to remain below $4 per bushel over the next decade. These lower corn prices contribute to an additional $4.8 billion in ARC-CO and PLC outlays over the next 10 years.
U.S. schools rethink ‘lunch shaming’ policies that humiliate children with meal debts
PBS | Posted onJuly 6, 2017 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe U.S. Agriculture Department is requiring districts to adopt policies this month for addressing meal debts and to inform parents at the start of the academic year.The agency is not specifically barring most of the embarrassing tactics, such as serving cheap sandwiches in place of hot meals or sending students home with conspicuous debt reminders, such as hand stamps.
Plant-based and meat-based proteins face off
Meat + Poultry | Posted onJuly 6, 2017 in Food NewsSteven Walton said he thought his daughter was a vegetarian, but she corrected him. She does not consider herself a vegetarian because she eats her mother’s meatballs whenever she visits.His daughter’s stance reflects a general attitude that people have, said Walton, general manager of HealthFocus International. People, especially those in the United States, do not wish to be labeled, which means a broader market may exist for plant-based protein beyond people who claim to be vegetarian, vegan or “flexitarian” (those who eat meat sparingly, such as once per week).
Quebec pork producers get $1.4 million to mitigate market risks
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onJuly 6, 2017 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe Canadian government has announced some C$1.4 million in financial assistance to Quebec’s pork sector. About C$1.2 million will be used to improve the Market Risk Management Service, launched in 2000 by the producer group Éleveurs de porcs du Québec (ÉPQ) to help producers mitigate price fluctuations without having to individually secure financing required by financial markets.
NC businesses feel the pain of cuts to seasonal worker visas
WBTV | Posted onJuly 6, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsInternational workers are the backbone of the Seaside Farm Market in the remote northern Outer Banks town of Corolla. Only 500 people live there, but up to 50,000 visit every week in the summer.But for the first time in 23 years, the family-owned produce and seafood market didn’t open this summer. Owners Bill and Julie Grandy weren’t able to get the H-2B visas they needed to bring in the workers from Mexico they’ve employed for years.They didn’t get a single local applicant for jobs advertised at $15 per hour, Bill Grandy said, calling Corolla a “black hole” for local labor.
G20 public finance for fossil fuels 'is four times more than renewables'
The Guardian | Posted onJuly 6, 2017 in Energy NewsThe G20 nations provide four times more public financing to fossil fuels than to renewable energy, a report has revealed ahead of their summit in Hamburg, where Angela Merkel has said climate change will be at the heart of the agenda. The authors of the report accuse the G20 of “talking out of both sides of their mouths” and the summit faces the challenge of a sceptical US administration after Donald Trump pulled out of the global Paris agreement.
How A Vermont Family Dairy Farm Makes Ends Meet
Vermont Public Radio | Posted onJuly 6, 2017 in Agriculture NewsThe number of dairy farms in Vermont continues to decline, with around 805 in business this spring. While large farms, with more than 700 cows, are a growing sector of the dairy economy, small operations with fewer than 200 animals still make up 80 percent of the state’s dairy farms.It’s challenging for small farms to stay in business as costs increase and the price of fluid, non-organic milk fluctuates, but some have found a way, including Silloway Farms in Randolph Center. They figured expanding would mean expenses.