Agriculture

For more than 50 years, since the nullification of the Bracero Treatyand left-unprotected U.S. border, the issue of illegal immigration has vexed our democracy. If there is one thing worse than the byzantine immigration system left in its wake, it’s the unending blame game from the very people charged with providing sound immigration policy: Congress.   On one side are the hardliners more than willing to cast the first stone at the illegal immigrant, yet completely unwilling to see their own neglect of leaving a border wide open to a poverty-stricken nation for so many years. [node:read-more:link]

A new lawsuit alleges that Monsanto knew that a potent herbicide would harm crops that weren’t resistant, but sold a product based on it anyway. As a result, potentially thousands of acres of crops that weren’t resistant to the herbicide died, the lawsuit says. The legal complaint was filed by 4-R Farms, which lost 200 acres of soybeans. [node:read-more:link]

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says the number of fatalities in agriculture is 18 times higher than the average across other major UK industries. Among the 29 farm workers killed, the biggest cause of death was livestock, accounting for almost a quarter of all fatalities (24%), followed by being struck by a farm vehicle (18%), and trapped by a structure collapsing (15%). Other causes include being struck by an object, falls from height and contact with electricity. [node:read-more:link]

In response to the recent news about access to farmers markets for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Food and Nutrition Service Administrator Brandon Lipps offers the following statement:  "The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) was recently informed by a major provider of mobile EBT technology for farmers markets and farm stands that it will discontinue this service. With few providers in this marketplace, this is of great concern.  Farmers markets play an important role in providing Americans with access to nutritious foods. [node:read-more:link]

Donald Trump’s trade wars are making pork a bargain.  American production is poised to reach an all-time high this year, and output is forecast to surge again in 2019. The supply boom comes as tariffs from China and Mexico threaten to curb export demand, leaving Americans with a mountain of cheap meat. On Saturday in Dallas, as many as 30 people on a local bacon-focused food tour were set to traverse the city chomping down on bacon donuts, bacon brown sugar ice cream, bacon jam and candied bacon. [node:read-more:link]

Even before the specter of a trade war with China and other countries threatened to cost them billions of dollars, American farmers were feeling the squeeze from fluctuating crop prices and other factors that have halved their overall income in recent years. The threat of counter-tariffs on U.S. farm goods and the impact of President Donald Trump's other policies on immigration and biofuels, though, have some farmers more worried than ever about their ability to continue eking out an existence in agriculture. [node:read-more:link]

In a growing season where some regions of the Western Corn Belt have seen too much moisture, other areas have seen very little of it. From east-central Kansas into north-central Missouri, scant amounts of precipitation have led to crops withering in the field, leaving livestock with little to eat or drink. Some areas are worse than others, but farmers in Kansas and Missouri said the drought area will grow in size the longer it doesn't rain. Moisture may still help soybeans, but it's too late for most of the corn. [node:read-more:link]

The California Department of Food and Agriculture has awarded $69.9 million in grant funding to 40 dairy digester projects across the state. These projects, part of the Dairy Digester Research and Development Program, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from manure on California dairy farms. Financial assistance for the installation of dairy digesters comes from California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that uses Cap-and-Trade program funds to support the state’s climate goals. [node:read-more:link]

Wisconsin farms use and dispose of hundreds to thousands of pounds of plastic items each year, but only a small portion of it is accepted by many recycling centers.  That is why Revolution Plastics has stepped up to accept agriculture plastics like silage bags, bale wraps and oxygen barriers that other recycling centers are unable to.   "Ag plastics used on Wisconsin dairy farms come covered in silage, mud and sometimes manure."  said Price Murphy, director of operations for Revolution Plastics. "Feed, in particular, leaves distinct aroma on the plastics that is hard to get out. [node:read-more:link]

In New Zealand, an important milestone has been reached in AgResearch’s development of a new-generation grass that could prove to be a game changer for agriculture. With funding from the government of New Zealand and industry partners, including DairyNZ, the genetically modified, high-metabolizable energy (HME) ryegrass has been shown in AgResearch’s laboratories to grow up to 50% faster than conventional ryegrass, to be able to store more energy for better animal growth, to be more resistant to drought and to produce as much as 23% less methane from livestock [node:read-more:link]