AgClips
Recent AgClips
Bankers toughen loan terms for farmers
Successful Farming | Posted onDecember 13, 2016 in Agriculture NewsAmid “a growing sense of risk in the farm sector,” bankers across the U.S. are demanding farm real estate as collateral on short-term operating loans, says the Ag Finance Databook compiled by the Kansas City Fed. Real estate provided one third of the collateral on loans of $250,000 or more issued during the summer vs. 10% a year earlier. It was an abrupt reversal of the five-year decline that began during the ag boom. Interest on non-real estate loans is shifting higher. Some 85% of loans carry a floating rate, for only the second time since 1977.
Monsanto shareholder’s suit to block Bayer merger thrown out
Bloomberg | Posted onDecember 13, 2016 in Agriculture NewsA Monsanto Co. shareholder’s lawsuit to block the agricultural giant’s merger with the German chemical company Bayer AG was thrown out by a Missouri judge. The investor alleged that Monsanto’s board of directors had breached its fiduciary responsibility to shareholders by accepting Bayer’s $128 bid for Monsanto shares. The shares were worth more than that and the directors stood to reap financial windfalls from the deal, according to the complaint.St. Louis County Circuit Judge John D. Warner Jr.
A new generation of farmers rents to cope with soaring American cropland prices
Bloomberg | Posted onDecember 12, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe overall number of farmers in the U.S. has been shrinking steadily, but the number of tenant farmers age 25 to 44 climbed almost 9 percent from 2007 to 2012, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) census. In California, the country’s leading agricultural producer, it rose 22 percent; in Washington and Oregon, it was up 9 percent and 11 percent, respectively. Many of the new tenant farmers identify with the locally grown food movement and are cultivating high-value organic produce. U.S.
In R.I., green energy grants help small farms stay in the black
Providence Journal | Posted onDecember 12, 2016 in Energy NewsMatt Tracy and his partner, Catherine Mardosa, have experienced all the difficulties of farming in Rhode Island. There has been drought (still is), floods (the historic 2010 deluge), the ever-present challenge of finding agricultural space in a land-strapped state, and the high fixed costs of machinery, equipment and fuel.
Half of people believe fake facts, 'remember' events that never happened
Science Daily | Posted onDecember 11, 2016 in Rural NewsIn a study on false memories, Dr Kimberley Wade in the Department of Psychology demonstrates that if we are told about a completely fictitious event from our lives, and repeatedly imagine that event occurring, almost half of us would accept that it did.
Census Bureau surveys highlight growing differences between rural, urban living
The Columbus Dispatch | Posted onDecember 11, 2016 in Rural NewsIf you live in rural Ohio, you're more likely than city dwellers to own your home, be a military veteran and be married, the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows. On the other hand, urban residents' homes are worth more, and they are more likely to have a college degree and internet access.
Organic livestock and poultry rule reaches last step
National Hog Farmer | Posted onDecember 11, 2016 in Agriculture NewsUSDA’s Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule now is pending at the White House Office of Management and Budget, the last step in the rulemaking process before it becomes final. The National Pork Producers Council is urging the USDA to withdraw the rule, or if it’s approved before Jan. 20, the Trump USDA to repeal it.
US antibiotic resistance levels in meat declining
World Poultry | Posted onDecember 11, 2016 in Food NewsSalmonella and Campylobacter prevalence in US retail chicken continues to decline according to the 2014 Integrated National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) report released by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Are these genetically engineered cows the future of medicine?
The Verge | Posted onDecember 11, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThey look like normal black-and-white Holstein cows, a common sight in Western Iowa. But these cows are special: used not for their milk or meat, but for their blood. They’re plasma donors, and one day, the life they save may be your own. The cows were genetically engineered by biotech company SAB Biotherapeutics to produce human antibodies, proteins that fight pathogens. These antibodies could one day treat infectious diseases like Ebola, influenza, and Zika — and their potential to address global outbreaks was recognized this summer by the World Health Organization.
Florida's shriveling agriculture industry can't shake the fall of citrus, loss of land
Tampa Bay Times | Posted onDecember 11, 2016 in Agriculture NewsMatt McKendree, 29, orders a burger, as does everyone else at the table after a morning of penning and deworming cows. "In 20 years, I don't think there will be any real cattle operations around here," says the seventh-generation cattle rancher and father of two young boys. "There won't be enough land." It has been a long time since farmers and ranchers could turn their spreads of land into big moneymakers. Many of them, like McKendree, have little faith that their children will be able to scrape together a living if they stick with the family business.