AgClips
Recent AgClips
Farmers, antitrust activists are worried that Big Ag is only getting bigger
NPR | Posted onOctober 19, 2016 in Agriculture NewsLow commodity prices are rippling up and down the farm-economy food chain — from the farm to the boardroom — and it has many of the huge companies that control farm inputs looking to a new future. Most of the seeds and chemicals used to grow the world's crops come from just a handful of big companies, and the largest of those multinational companies — Monsanto, Bayer, Dow, DuPont, and Syngenta — are trying to get even bigger. The prospect of fewer, larger companies controlling so much of the basic food supply is giving some farmers and antitrust advocates heartburn. With massive supplies
Dairy farmers in California say anti-flatulence law stinks
CNBC | Posted onOctober 19, 2016 in Agriculture NewsA new state law aims to reduce methane from cows, but the cattle industry thinks the regulation stinks. "I don't have a whole lot of hope that common sense will prevail," said Rob Vandenheuvel, general manager of the Milk Producers Council, a industry group in California. The Golden State has the most dairy cows in the nation with a herd of 1.7 million animals churning out milk. There are also nearly 4 million beef cattle. Vandenheuvel may not have much to worry about.
Baltimore County puts temporary halt to large solar fields on farms
Baltimore Sun | Posted onOctober 19, 2016 in Energy NewsThe Baltimore County Council voted unanimously Monday to halt large-scale solar power projects on farmland for four months while the county considers rules for them.
Pork Producer Julie Maschhoff on Why Trade Is Important to Hog Farmers
Wall Street Journal | Posted onOctober 19, 2016 in Agriculture NewsIt’s a huge job to talk about what we are doing every day on the farm, in that back 40 acres, and what everyone else is doing in this fast-paced world, with so much change happening. We are starting to finally learn how to use Twitter. It’s hard to connect but I have to earn your trust. I have to tell the story for farmers and ranchers. I have to explain to you what we’re doing and why, and how science influenced our decision to change.
The day Scotland quietly ushered in an energy revolution
Independent | Posted onOctober 19, 2016 in Energy NewsFor the first time ever, the army of spinning white turbines that has sprouted across the lush countryside generated enough electricity to power all of Scotland. The exceptional output brought the country membership in a small but growing club of nations proving that the vision of a world powered by renewable fuels is closer than many realize. Long derided as a fantasy, a day’s worth of energy harvested purely from the sun and the wind has lately become reality in nations such as Portugal, Denmark and Costa Rica.
How bad will Brexit be for UK farmers, retailers and consumers?
The Guardian | Posted onOctober 19, 2016 in Federal NewsNick Clegg has claimed that quitting the European Union without staying inside the single market will devastate British farming. He said a hard Brexit would be followed by “punishing tariffs” on products including beef, cheese and wine, effectively pricing them out of their biggest export market.
Cargill’s Food Empire Adapts to a Changing World
Wall Street Journal | Posted onOctober 19, 2016 in Agriculture NewsFrom the Minneapolis suburbs, Cargill Inc. runs one of the biggest food empires the world has ever seen, spanning the supply chain from farm to table—shipping fertilizer to farmers, buying the crops that are grown, processing grain into feed for livestock and poultry, and producing burgers and nuggets for the world’s biggest restaurant chains and retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and McDonald’s Corp. As consumer tastes shift, Cargill is striving to make its immense size an advantage rather than a hindrance.
A look at PETA’s tips for going vegan
Meatingplace (registration required) | Posted onOctober 19, 2016 in Food NewsThe publication makes the usual three-part argument about why we should all stop eating meat – animal welfare (“why not stop killing animals for the fleeting taste of their flesh?”), nutrition (“why not stop clogging our arteries with saturated fat and cholesterol?”), and the environment (“why not stop supporting water and air pollution and the waste of resources caused by factory farms?”). The kit also gives tips for going to parties, suggesting that if other guests seem annoyed by conversation about being vegan, it is just “a reflection of an otherwise kind person’s conflicted feelings a
N.C. agency says hog lagoons holding up against floodwaters
Meatingplace (registration required) | Posted onOctober 19, 2016 in Agriculture NewsAerial tours indicate that some hog waste lagoons were inundated by floodwaters in North Carolina but did not show any confirmed breaches or overtopping, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Quality. State environmental inspectors flew over farms in eastern North Carolina over the weekend to survey the impact of Hurricane Matthew. “We are cautiously optimistic that North Carolina’s swine operations have survived the storm without experiencing the catastrophic damage we saw during Hurricane Floyd,” said Donald R.
As crop prices fall, farmers focus on seeds
Wall Street Journal | Posted onOctober 18, 2016 in Agriculture NewsU.S. farmers, bogged down in one of their toughest patches in years, are looking for a little magic—in seeds. Some are returning to the old-fashioned variety, bred without genetic engineering, and back in fashion as farmers strive to save money following three straight years of falling prices for major crops like corn and soybeans. Others, meanwhile, are joining new subscriber-based services that collect seed and other detailed crop-related data from their farmer members, who then use the data to determine which seeds and pesticides will work best on their fields and at the fairest price.