AgClips
Recent AgClips
Appeals court blocks Wisconsin mega-farm
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune | Posted onApril 13, 2017 in Agriculture NewsAn appeals court has blocked key parts of a proposed large-scale dairy farm that has been the subject of controversy for years in central Wisconsin.
Washington dairy sued over Clean Water Act
Yakima Herald | Posted onApril 13, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA Lower Valley dairy is being sued over claims that it has violated the federal Clean Water Act for years, including contributing to the impact of a manure-related flood in the Outlook area earlier this year.The lawsuit against Snipes Mountain Dairy was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Yakima.The plaintiffs are Community Association for Restoration of the Environment, commonly known as CARE, and Friends of Toppenish Creek. Both nonprofits have been active critics of dairy practices in the Lower Valley.
Big Worries In Vermont’s Dairy Industry
WBUR | Posted onApril 13, 2017 in Agriculture NewsFears on the farm. How President Trump’s immigration crackdown could impact Vermont’s dairy industry. Vermont is probably not a state you’d think of in the conversation about immigration and border security. But the state’s multi-billion dollar dairy industry relies on undocumented agriculture workers to milk and more. President Trump’s executive orders and tough talk have undocumented workers scared. And farmers don’t know what they’ll do without a reliable workforce. This hour On Point, Vermont, agriculture, and immigration.
Robots are now doing food deliveries
Vox | Posted onApril 13, 2017 in Food NewsMuch attention has been paid to flying delivery robot prototypes from Amazon and Google, but a San Francisco startup called Marble just released a product that — while a bit less futuristic — could turn out to win the robot delivery wars.
The questions no one is asking about raising food animals without antibiotics
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onApril 13, 2017 in Agriculture NewsRecently, I spent a morning with a country veterinarian. As he checked cattle for their health certificates, we talked about antibiotic use in cattle, sheep, pigs, turkeys and chickens. He’s observed a deeply concerning trend; many sick animals are not being treated with antibiotics because ranchers and farmers are required to keep their animals ABF (antibiotic free) for their large, socially driven corporate customers. When animals get sick, and many do, just like many kids get sick, they need antibiotics to get better.
Maryland passes 30% energy storage tax credit for residential, C&I installations
Utility Dive | Posted onApril 13, 2017 in Energy News- Maryland’s General Assembly has passed a bill that calls for a 30% tax credit for the deployment of energy storage technologies that runs from 2018 through 2022. The credit is capped at $5,000 for residential storage projects and at $75,000 for commercial projects with an overall cap on credits awarded of $750,000 per year.The bill now goes to Gov. Larry Hogan (R), but it seems to have garnered enough votes – passing unanimously in the Senate and by 101-11 votes in the House – to avoid or survive a veto.
Montana:For third session in a row, Senate kills bill to allow sale of raw milk
The Missoulian | Posted onApril 13, 2017 in Food NewsThe Montana Senate killed a measure to allow the sale of raw milk within the state. After more than two hours of debate Tuesday, senators voted down HB 325 by a 28-22 vote. It had passed the House last month with a 69-30 vote. The bill would have allowed cattle, goat or sheep ranchers to sell raw milk and related products directly to consumers or through agricultural shares where people pay an upfront cost in exchange for regular deliveries of goods. Rep.
Trouble on the farm
Minneapolis Federal Reserve | Posted onApril 13, 2017 in Agriculture NewsDistrict crop and livestock producers are struggling to cope with a sharp drop in commodity prices. For agricultural producers across the Ninth District, this has been the winter of their discontent. After reaping handsome profits earlier in the decade, producers are reeling from lower crop and livestock prices, the result of several years of high commodity production worldwide and a strong U.S. dollar that has limited farm exports.Many producers in the district are operating at a loss because revenues are not covering their costs.
Healthcare's new rural frontier
Politico | Posted onApril 13, 2017 in Rural NewsRural hospitals are facing one of the great slow-moving crises in American health care. Across the U.S., they've been closing at a rate of about one per month since 2010. About 14 percent of the U.S. population lives in rural counties, a proportion that has dropped as the number of urban dwellers grows. Declining populations mean a smaller base of patients and less revenue. And the hospitals are caught in a squeeze: Because many patients in the countryside are older and sicker, they require more intensive and often expensive care.
Maryland officials seek new poultry house rules
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onApril 13, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsAuthorities in Worcester County, Md., are preparing for two public hearings this month on a proposal to tighten poultry house regulations that was introduced in March, according to local reports. County commissioners introduced a bill that would limit the number of chicken houses that can be built on a parcel of land to eight and requires that the houses stand at least 200 feet away from adjacent properties. The proposal also calls for poultry houses to be set away from vegetation surrounding poultry farms.