AgClips
Recent AgClips
Farm Bill- Conservation Title, Update from USDA’s Economic Research Service
Farm Policy News | Posted onFebruary 14, 2019 in NewsThe U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) published an overview of the Conservation Title of the 2018 Farm Bill. Today’s update looks at a couple key points from the ERS summary.
For 6 Cities on the Great Lakes, the Cost of Water Has Risen Sharply
Governing | Posted onFebruary 14, 2019 in Rural NewsFor months, the Rev. Falicia Campbell kept a secret from her congregation, her friends and even her adult children. It was a secret she was ashamed to divulge: She was living without running water.Like a growing number of Americans, the 63-year-old Chicago resident couldn't afford to pay her rising water bills. She inherited her mother's house in Englewood, a poor neighborhood on the city's South Side, and last year received a $5,000 bill.Campbell is partially blind and lives on a fixed income from disability payments. She dedicates most of her time to helping her community.
2018 Farm BIll Implementation Listening Session
USDA | Posted onFebruary 14, 2019 in Federal NewsU.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey announced that USDA is hosting a listening session for initial input on the 2018 Farm Bill. USDA is seeking public input on the changes to existing programs implemented by the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Risk Management Agency.
A Beyonce endorsement of GMOs would probably help farmers a lot more than science
Financial Post | Posted onFebruary 14, 2019 in Food NewsFor a world that has largely forsaken religion in favour of science to base its attitudes towards food on nothing more than belief and feeling is something that should make us uncomfortable and embarrassed. This is what seems to be happening. It’s alarming. It changes things for me as a writer. No longer is a column about food and agriculture about demonstrating truth — perhaps it never was. Instead, it’s now about staging an attractive argument, like a house that you can picture yourself living in.
NY Farmworkers Fight to End 80-Year Ban on Unionizing
COurthouse News Service | Posted onFebruary 14, 2019 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsContesting New York’s nearly century-long failure to protect farmworkers from wage theft and other labor abuses, an attorney urged a New York appeals court Monday to bring state law out of the Jim Crow era. “The court ruled that farmworkers do not have a constitutional right to organize, despite the very clear language in the New York Constitution giving all employees the right to organize,” said Erin Harrist, senior staff attorney at the New York City Civil Liberties Union.
Lawmakers introduce fairness for farm workers act
American Ag Radio Network | Posted onFebruary 14, 2019 in NewsLegislation introduced by lawmakers from California would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act and end the minimum wage and overtime pay exemptions for farm workers. The Fairness for Farm Workers Act was introduced by Representative Raúl Grijalva and Senator Kamala Harris, both Democrats from California, Thursday. In a statement, the lawmakers say that “it’s unacceptable” many farm workers live in poverty, adding it’s time farm workers “receive the wages they deserve.” Harris called the legislation “a major step towards economic justice” for farmworkers.
We have a new global tally of the insect apocalypse. It’s alarming.
Vox | Posted onFebruary 14, 2019 in Rural NewsInsects are the most abundant animals on planet Earth. If you were to put them all together into one creepy-crawly mass, they’d outweigh all humanity by a factor of 17.Insects outweigh all the fish in the oceans and all the livestock munching grass on land.
U.S. settles with Antero over water pollution from fracking
Reuters | Posted onFebruary 14, 2019 in Energy NewsThe U.S. Justice Department reached a settlement with oil and natural gas company Antero Resources Corp over claims it violated the Clean Water Act at 32 different sites in West Virginia, mostly tied to fracking. Antero agreed to pay a penalty of $3.15 million and provide mitigation for affected sites, estimated to cost $8 million. The violations involved unauthorized disposal of materials into local waterways associated with hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, for natural gas extraction, the Justice Department said.
Bavarians vote to save bugs and birds—and change farming
National Geographic | Posted onFebruary 14, 2019 in Agriculture NewsA coalition of conservation groups has recently called for the world to adopt a goal of protecting 30 percent of the whole planet by 2030 in order to preserve biodiversity. Bavarian supporters of the petition see themselves as pursuing a similar purpose at home—in a state that is the bastion of German political conservatism.
What the FDA’s actions mean for dietary supplements
AP News | Posted onFebruary 14, 2019 in NewsThe Food and Drug Administration announced plans Monday to step up its policing of dietary supplements, which it said has mushroomed into a $40 billion industry with more than 50,000 products. The agency warned 17 companies for illegally making claims about their products’ ability to treat diseases. Dietary supplements, including vitamins, are regulated more like foods than drugs.