AgClips
Recent AgClips
Arkansas battles over municipal broadband
Daily Yonder | Posted onFebruary 21, 2019 in Rural NewsWill Arkansas become the first state to rescind its ban on local-government ownership of internet service providers? With the issue before the state Legislature, citizen input could have an impact on the decision. The real legislation, SB 150, unanimously passed out state Senate committee on February 7. But then the full state Senate hijacked the bill and put compromising restrictions in the wording.
Innovative Rural Communities Receive National Recognition
Daily Yonder | Posted onFebruary 21, 2019 in Rural NewsMore than a decade ago, a group of people from Independence, Oregon, asked legacy telecommunications corporations to bring high-speed fiber internet connectivity to their rural community. “They told us ‘we’ll get to you in 10 or 20 years,’” said Shawn Irvine, economic development director for the City of Independence. “So we got together and decided to just do it ourselves,” Irvine said.
Land O'Lakes Launches Software Platform To Help Farmers Boost Sustainability
Forbes | Posted onFebruary 21, 2019 in Agriculture NewsMore Americans than ever say they want sustainable food. According to a 2018 survey conducted by the International Food Information Council, 59% of American consumers said they care about whether their food is grown sustainably. But much like “GMO” or “natural,” sustainability can be a murky term with no clear definition. Now, two stalwarts of the ‘Big Food’ landscape are working to clear up that murkiness with a “Turbo-Tax style” software platform aimed at getting farmers to grow their crops more sustainably.
Oklahoma agriculture board approves poultry farm proposals
The News Tribune | Posted onFebruary 21, 2019 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe Oklahoma Board of Agriculture on Tuesday approved proposals for new or expanding poultry operations requiring them to be a certain distance away from homes and schools, but some eastern Oklahoma residents say the plan doesn't go far enough. The board voted 3-2 for the rules that include "setback" requirements that operations with fewer than 150,000 birds be at least 500 feet from homes and larger operations be at least 1,000 feet away.
Do voters know the increased cost of cage-free eggs?
Watt AgNet | Posted onFebruary 21, 2019 in NewsIn a recent blog post, Why don’t we vote like we shop, Jayson Lusk discussed his consumer research into the puzzle of why California voters have voted to outlaw the same cage-produced eggs they overwhelming select when purchasing groceries.Explaining the vote-buy gap may be simple. When we pay for items ourselves, whether in a store or restaurant, we know the price and we know that the money is coming out of our own wallets. When deciding at the polls, I think voters don’t know the cost and most think the money is coming out of someone else’s wallet.
Neanderthals' main food source was definitely meat
Science Daily | Posted onFebruary 21, 2019 in Food NewsResearchers describe two late Neanderthals with exceptionally high nitrogen isotope ratios, which would traditionally be interpreted as the signature of freshwater fish consumption. By studying the isotope ratios of single amino acids, they however demonstrated that instead of fish, the adult Neanderthal had a diet relying on large herbivore mammals and that the other Neanderthal was a breastfeeding baby whose mother was also a carnivore.
Hawaii ‘Postcard From the Future’ for Renewables
Bloomberg | Posted onFebruary 21, 2019 in Energy, SARL Members and Alumni NewsNear Honolulu, researchers are testing how to generate electricity from the energy in ocean waves. And Hawaii’s largest electric utility is among the first to widely use advanced “smart” inverters to help manage the flow of electricity from rooftop solar panels into the power grid.
Decriminalizing marijuana aimed at reducing black incarceration rate, Gov. Tony Evers says
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Posted onFebruary 21, 2019 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsAllowing Wisconsin residents to smoke and sell small amounts of marijuana would reduce the disproportionate rate at which the state's black residents are arrested, Gov. Tony Evers argued. "People shouldn't be treated like criminals for accessing medicine that could change or maybe even save their lives," Evers said Monday at a news conference announcing his plan to legalize marijuana for medical reasons and decriminalize recreational use of small amounts of the plant. "But I also want to make this clear: This is not just about accessing health care," he said.
States Consider ‘Surge Pricing’ for Power
Pew Trust | Posted onFebruary 21, 2019 in Energy, SARL Members and Alumni NewsJust as more people fly during the holidays and drive during rush hour, the demand for electricity peaks at predictable times. Flights and some toll roads cost the most when demand is highest.
Chinese firm recalls products on African Swine Fever contamination
Meating Place (free registration required) | Posted onFebruary 21, 2019 in NewsChinese frozen food producer Sanquan on Monday recalled products that may be contaminated with African swine fever, after government-run Beijing News reported that some dumplings had tested positive for the virus. While diseased pigs were entering the food supply chain, it was not clear if the virus was still in a viable form.