AgClips
Recent AgClips
State milk regulators ask FDA to uphold dairy terminology
Feedstuffs | Posted onMay 23, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni News
State milk regulators requested that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration work with them to enforce the proper use of milk and milk product labeling terms, especially those meant to distinguish between real dairy products and plant-based imitators – a development the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) hailed as “the strongest statement yet that the abuse of dairy terms has gone too far.”“It’s time for FDA to work with state agencies in defending standards of identity for dairy products,” said Beth Briczinski, NMPF vice president of dairy foods and nutrition.
Problems of rural Georgia easy to find, difficult to fix
Atlanta Journal Constitution | Posted onMay 23, 2017 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsWhether it is the promise of industry that never materializes, the loss of existing factories and plants, or any of a number of other reasons, many of Georgia’s rural communities are suffering. The newest effort from state government to identify the challenges facing rural Georgia, and potential solutions, gets under way. The House Rural Development Council will have its first meeting.
Dairy aims to be first to test system that reclaims waste
Capital Press | Posted onMay 23, 2017 in NewsHere’s how it works: At least half of the wet waste that currently goes to the lagoon would instead go into the new machine. A process that relies on heat would separate the waste. More than 90 percent of the end product would be distilled, reusable water. The other byproducts are a dry, fibrous substance that could be used for bedding or in potting soil, and a concentrated liquid fertilizer containing nutrients from the manure.The water should be safe for animals to drink, said Jeff Graf, in business development at Janicki.“It completes the cycle,” Visser said.
Washington CAFO law attacked from all sides
Capital Press | Posted onMay 23, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe dairy industry and environmental groups have come up with 19 legal challenges to the Washington Department of Ecology’s new manure-control law.The Pollution Control Hearings Board, the forum for appealing Ecology actions, has scheduled a week-long hearing for Dec. 4-8 in Tumwater on the state’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation permits. The appeals did not keep the rules from taking effect in March.“Ecology developed these permits with the best available science and broad stakeholder input,” department spokeswoman Jessica Payne wrote Monday in an email.
Cooperating microbes convert methane to alternative fuel source
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | Posted onMay 23, 2017 in Energy NewsOil and gas wells and even cattle release methane gas into the atmosphere, and researchers are working on ways to not only capture this gas but also convert it into something useful and less-polluting.
Walmart intends to push sustainability goals to the farm levels
Walmart | Posted onMay 23, 2017 in Agriculture NewsAgricultural practices have economic and environmental impacts for farmers, ranchers and buyers of their products. The adoption of best-in-class agricultural practices, including precision agriculture and feed optimization, can help reduce farmer input costs, improve water quality and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With almost 92 million cattle, 71 million swine and millions of acres of farmland in the U.S.
US officials note surprise record in New Zealand milk production
Forex Live | Posted onMay 23, 2017 in Agriculture Newshe USDA said it believes that New Zealand milk output will rise to a surprise record. No impact from the headlines on the kiwi, at least not yet.
New York farmers close to dumping milk over Canadian trade dispute
Politifact | Posted onMay 23, 2017 in Agriculture NewsRep. Chris Collins says a trade dispute with the Canada has forced New York state farmers to dump their milk "into ditches" because they can no longer sell it across the border. "They’ve now taken something they call ultra-filtered milk. They effectively with a pricing move, our dairy farmers are no longer able to get that product into Canada," Collins said in an interview with Bloomberg. "They are now dumping milk into the ditches.
Can Delaware’s poultry industry get along?
Delaware Business Times | Posted onMay 23, 2017 in Agriculture NewsJesse Vanderwende has worked as a contract grower for the last 11 years. His farm in Bridgeville raises hundreds of thousands of chickens from hatchlings to full-grown birds every year. Perdue Farms provides the feed and expertise, and then processes and ships the finished product to supermarkets across the country. “If I have a question or a problem, they help you work through it,” Vanderwende said. “I never get the feeling that I’m out there fighting for myself.”Not all growers would agree.
How Animal Rights Activists And Environmentalists Became Unlikely Adversaries
Fivethirtyeight | Posted onMay 23, 2017 in Agriculture NewsThe Humane Society and Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families seem like two groups that could, conceivably, coexist in adjoining booths at your local Earth Day festival. But these organizations have instead ended up on opposite sides in a debate over how the Environmental Protection Agency should go about regulating thousands of potentially harmful chemicals that Americans come into contact with every day.