AgClips
Recent AgClips
Alabama Power customers to pay $740 million after coal plant closes
Birmingham Real Time News | Posted onMarch 4, 2019 in Energy NewsThe William Crawford Gorgas Electric Generating Plant near Parrish is set to be retired in April, but Alabama Power customers will be repaying about $740 million in costs related to the Walker County coal power plant long after it closes, according to documents the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Alabama Power’s parent group, Southern Company, disclosed in its latest public 10-K filing that “approximately $740 million of net investment costs [from Plant Gorgas] will be transferred to a regulatory asset at the retirement date and recovered over the affected units’
Small-town U.S.A. falls further behind urban America in job opportunities after recession
Market Watch | Posted onMarch 4, 2019 in Rural NewsCity dwellers really do have it much better than rural inhabitants, at least when it comes to job opportunities in the 21st century. After looking at who’s working in urban and rural areas, the Federal Reserve found that the labor market began to recover earlier and improve much faster in cities than in the countryside. While there’s always been a gap, it’s become more severe during the current expansion. The yawning gap between city and country is most glaring in what’s known as the labor force participation rate.
The Problem for Small-Town Banks: People Want High-Tech Services
The Wall Street Journal | Posted onMarch 4, 2019 in Rural NewsConsumers have moved to large lenders offering online transactions; community lenders left behind struggle.
U.S. farm debt is at highest point since 1980s agriculture crisis
The Week | Posted onMarch 4, 2019 in NewsAmerican farmers are having trouble navigating a financial maize. U.S. farm debt is the highest its been since the 1980s when the agriculture community was last in calamity.
Bill to address animal importation issue passes Indiana Senate
Greensburg Daily News | Posted onMarch 4, 2019 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsA bill authored by State Sen. Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) that would help address an animal importation issue facing Indiana today passed the Senate by a unanimous vote. Senate Bill 533 would require a person who transfers a domestic dog or cat from a foreign country to Indiana to provide an electronic or paper copy of the animal’s veterinary inspection or official health certificate to the recipient of the animal.According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), globally, dogs remain the principal source of human rabies infections.
Vote under way on proposed California Cattle Council
Lake County News | Posted onMarch 4, 2019 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe California Department of Food and Agriculture has mailed more than 19,000 ballots to state cattle producers, urging them to vote on a referendum asking whether or not to establish the California Cattle Council. If approved, the Council would perform research aimed at the development of best management practices to improve sustainability and efficiency; assist with regulatory compliance; and develop consumer education programs for California beef.
TPP exporters gaining ground over US for Japan's beef
Asian Review | Posted onMarch 4, 2019 in Agriculture NewsBeef producers in the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement enjoyed a surge in sales to Japan in January, as ranchers benefited from lower tariffs than their U.S. competitors. Beef imports from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Mexico, all of which have approved the trade pact, surged to 33,000 metric tons in January, up 56% from the previous year, according to Japan's Finance Ministry.
How to get fresh produce delivered to your door — while supporting local farms
Today | Posted onMarch 4, 2019 in Food NewsAshley Tyrner, founder and CEO of Farmbox Direct, is out to change how Americans eat. The service delivers fresh produce straight to your door, making healthy diets more accessible. "I had a really hard time having accessibility to fresh fruits and vegetablesthat were great, organic produce," Tyrner told TODAY's Jill Martin.
Under Trump, the EPA’s enforcement efforts fall to a 40-year low in this one key area
Market Watch | Posted onMarch 4, 2019 in Federal NewsAs the Trump administration draws flak for how it’s running the Environmental Protection Agency, one critic is putting out charts like the one above to make his case. The Environmental Data & Governance Initiative’s Chris Sellers provided the above graphic and others to a Democratic-controlled House subcommittee that held a hearing last week on a drop in the EPA’s enforcement efforts. The chart shows how “civil judicial referrals” have slumped to a level last seen in 1976.
Dismissing the Green New Deal as overreaching 'socialism' ignores reality of climate crisis
The Hill | Posted onMarch 4, 2019 in Energy NewsCritics of the Green New Deal have attempted to smear its ideals, goals, and policies as dangerous “socialism,” displaying a deep skepticism of the government’s capacity to do good. But if ever a time called for dramatic democratic action, for thoughtful deliberation and policy development by our elected officials and our expert agencies, now is that time. Climate change is not just another environmental problem. Emerging impacts — floods, droughts, heat — provide only a taste of the anticipated devastation and its human and environmental costs.