AgClips
Recent AgClips
Consumers, birds could suffer when activists direct poultry production
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onJanuary 17, 2017 in Agriculture NewsThe recent election was very controversial. No, I am not talking about the Presidential election, but the measure that was passed in Massachusetts to prevent confinement rearing of several species including table-egg hens. This measure is estimated to increase the food bill of each resident of that state by $45 per year. I wish that we could somehow communicate more effectively how many advancements have been made in animal welfare in the last 15 years. It has been a meteoric change in housing, audits to verify animal care, record keeping and handling. We all appreciated how many chan
Theresa May confirms: Britain is heading for Brexit Max
The Economist | Posted onJanuary 17, 2017 in Federal NewsBritain will leave the single market and the customs union. She wants this all wrapped up within the two years permitted by Article 50, the exit process she will launch by the end of March; ideally with a “phased process of implementation” afterwards covering things like immigration controls and financial regulation. In other words there will be no formal transitional period. There will, in fact, be a cliff edge of sorts.
Internet, animal rights activists helped shut down Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
CBS News | Posted onJanuary 16, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsOn Saturday, officials of the company that owns the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced that it will close in May, ending a 146-year run that dates back to a time before automobiles or airplanes or movies, when Ulysses S. Grant was president and minstrel shows were popular entertainment. What killed the circus? There are many suspects: increased railroad costs.
Study: Slower-growing broiler production has faults
Watt Ag Net | Posted onJanuary 16, 2017 in Food NewsStudy reveals negative sustainability implications of ‘slower growing’ raising methods; NCC supports more research on chicken welfare. A study released January 11 by the NCC details the environmental, economic and sustainability implications of raising slower growing chickens, revealing a sharp increase in chicken prices and the use of environmental resources - including water, air, fuel and land. NCC also calls for more research on the health impact of chickens' growth rates, to ensure that the future of bird health and welfare is grounded in scientific, data-backed research.
Sanderson Farms opens North Carolina poultry complex
Watt Ag Net | Posted onJanuary 16, 2017 in Agriculture NewsNew deboning facility to employ 1,100 people and provide opportunity for 100 contract growers.Sanderson Farms has opened a new $155 million poultry processing plantand wastewater treatment facility in St. Pauls, North Carolina.This new 180,000-square-foot plant will accompany the existing 65,000-square-foot hatchery located in Lumberton, North Carolina, as well as a feed mill in Kinston, North Carolina., making it the company’s eleventh fully integrated poultry processing facility nationwide.
One New Year’s Resolution Worth Keeping: Empower America’s Youth - Our Future Workforce
Huffington Post | Posted onJanuary 16, 2017 in Rural NewsAccording to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the United States, approximately three million high school graduates, and more than a million college graduates, will make up a massive “youth workforce” entering the job market in 2017 - this is particularly relevant as America’s workforce potential is certain to be highlighted this Friday at the inauguration of America’s 45th President, and as a new Congress and administration make a renewed commitment to prioritizing job creation across the country. Although 32 percent of people’s first jobs are in the retail industry, the nu
General Mills patents process to create range of dairy-alternatives from legumes
Food Navigator | Posted onJanuary 16, 2017 in Food NewsA patent application from General Mills shows it is experimenting with legumes such as chickpeas, adzuki beans, fava beans and lentils to create non-dairy ‘milks;' eggless mayonnaise and dips; and cultured legume based products such as cheeses, yogurts, kefir and ice cream.
Puerto Ricans Could Ease South Dakota Dairy Labor Shortage
ABC News | Posted onJanuary 16, 2017 in Agriculture NewsUnable to find enough workers to carry out the painstaking tasks of milk production, dairy producers in South Dakota hope to tap into a different labor force: unemployed residents of Puerto Rico. It could be a tonic both for dairy operators and Puerto Rico, where the jobless rate stands at 12 percent but workers are far freer to travel to the U.S. for jobs than immigrants due to the island's status as a U.S. territory. South Dakota dairy farms produced 209 million pounds of milk in 2016, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Environmental Groups Concerned About Oregon Mega-dairy
Ag Web | Posted onJanuary 16, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA coalition of health and environmental groups is asking Oregon officials to investigate construction of a mega-dairy in Morrow County. It's unclear whether state agencies will sign off on the controversial 30,000-cow dairy farm. It hasn't been determined whether Lost Valley Ranch broke the law by breaking ground long before it secured the necessary permits.
Maryland spends $1M a year to transport chicken litter
The Baltimore Sun | Posted onJanuary 16, 2017 in NewsIn one end of the long green warehouse come heaps of powdery, malodorous chicken manure. Out the other goes garden-ready fertilizer sold to golf courses or companies like Scotts, which bag it and markets it as Miracle Gro Organic Choice and other products. Supporters say the Perdue AgriRecycle facility a few miles from the Maryland state line is one solution for chicken farmers on the Eastern Shore who need to get rid of manure. Along with the chicken litter, Perdue receives hundreds of thousands of state taxpayer dollars each year.