AgClips
Recent AgClips
Change to Idaho’s field burning program heads to EPA for approval
Capital Press | Posted onApril 17, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA proposed change to Idaho’s field burning program has been approved by state regulators and lawmakers and will now go to the Environmental Protection Agency for a final OK. The change, which is meant to avoid a major reduction in allowable burn days for farmers, is opposed by some environmental and public health groups but supported by farm organizations.Farmers testified in favor of a bill that makes the amendment during Idaho’s recent legislative session and lawmakers supported it by a combined vote of 91-12.Sen.
Rural Oregonians defend trapper program against cuts
Capital Press | Posted onApril 17, 2017 in NewsIn many Oregon communities, county governments are hard up for cash, a decades-old fact of life arising from falling timber revenue, stagnant property values and a deep-seated aversion to local tax levies. So locals are used to prioritizing services. Lincoln County Chair Terry Thompson recalls a time a few years back when a group of rural residents wanted to make their wishes known to the county board.“We want good roads that we can travel on,” he recalled them saying, “and the trapper.
Kerrygold Butter Maker Slaps Rival In Wisconsin with Trademark Lawsuit
Fortune | Posted onApril 17, 2017 in Food NewsThere's a butter war breaking out in America's dairy aisle. A lawsuit has surfaced after talks allegedly soured between Dublin-based co-operative Ornua, the owner of the popular Kerrygold brand, and Wisconsin-based Old World Creamery to develop an Irish-made butter that could be sold in Wisconsin.The case stems from a protectionist law in the state of Wisconsin that essentially bans all butters produced from outside of the United States. The decades-old law has required federal or state graders to sign off on butter brands sold within the state.
Dannon attacks ‘daisy-chained’ logic in all-natural lawsuit over GM feed and dairy products
Food Navigator | Posted onApril 17, 2017 in Food NewsShould brands making dairy products from cows that may have consumed GM feed be allowed to market their wares as ‘all natural’? Absolutely, insisted Dannon in court papers filed this week urging the judge to dismiss the “daisy-chained” logic of a false advertising lawsuit filed in New York.
6 years in, dental therapist experiment is working, experts say
St Cloud Times | Posted onApril 17, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsEight years ago, the Minnesota Legislature authorized the licensing of mid-level dental care providers, known as dental therapists, to practice in Minnesota. The new career was supposed to expand access to dental care to more state residents, especially those with low incomes or who live in rural areas where dentists may be rare. Comparable to a nurse practitioners, the first dental therapist graduates began seeing patients in 2011.
Fruit growers, poultry producers worry that anti-immigration rhetoric will hurt business
Penn Live | Posted onApril 14, 2017 in Federal NewsWith this year's growing season about to get into full swing, the hardline anti-immigration rhetoric coming out of the White House is about to play out across the fields brimming with peach and apple blossoms. Increasingly fruit and vegetable growers like Peters are anxious that they will not be able to fill the thousands of jobs needed to operate and deliver their goods to markets."Certainly the political rhetoric will have an impact," Peters said. "Even before the rhetoric we didn't have enough workers.
Bird flu redirects trade flow of U.S. chicken, eggs, grains
Reuters | Posted onApril 14, 2017 in Agriculture NewsGlobal outbreaks of bird flu in poultry have altered the flow of U.S. chicken meat, eggs and grain around the world, adding to challenges faced by domestic exporters and giving a leg up to Brazil, which has so far escaped the disease. Different strains of avian flu have been detected across Asia, Europe, Africa and in the United States in recent months, leading to the culling of millions of birds and a flurry of import restrictions on eggs and chicken meat.U.S. grain traders such as Bunge Ltd and Cargill Inc have lost business because poultry deaths have reduced feed demand.
Trade Negotiations Sow Seeds of Doubt for U.S. Agriculture
Stratfor | Posted onApril 14, 2017 in Federal NewsGrant Wood's 1930 painting "American Gothic" is quintessential Americana. The austere depiction of a farmer and his land evokes the agrarian core that has long underpinned the United States' geopolitical strength. Today, the U.S. agricultural system is still central to the country's success, though it looks much different now than it did in Wood's time. Small family farms have given way to massive industrial operations, and the agricultural sector as a whole has become far more globalized. In fact, despite its reputation as the "breadbasket of the world," the U.S.
Cultivating the coexistence of agriculture and solar farms
Green Biz | Posted onApril 14, 2017 in Energy NewsBy now, most Americans have heard of solar farms. But how about solar farmers? A quarter of California farms, nearly 2,000 altogether, are generating onsite solar energy, making it far and away the national leader, according to a 2011 report (PDF) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) outlining the use of solar on farms. Hawaii, Colorado and Texas count over 500 farms producing solar power, while Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona and Montana have over 200 each. But how farmers are solarizing that land has become a point of contention.
Lawmakers unveil Wisconsin Farm Veterans bill
Wisconsin State Farmer | Posted onApril 14, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsHailing Wisconsin's strong tradition of military service and agricultural excellence, a group of state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are trying to bring the two traditions together with the Wisconsin Veterans Farm Bill of 2017. Senator Patrick Testin (R-Town of Hull) and Representative Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee) along with co-authors Sen. Janis Ringhand (D-Evansville) and Rep. Ed Brooks (R-Reedsburg) are introducing a proposal to create a program to recruit military veterans into farming and authorize the creation of a logotype for veteran farmer products.