Agriculture

This time of year, Shawn Holladay is usually sitting atop a tractor, laying cotton seeds into rows of red soil on his farm here on the High Plains.But less than 2 inches of rain has fallen across much of West Texas since last October, compared with an average of about 10 inches over the same period last year.  With his fields bone dry, Mr. Holladay and many other farmers in the Texas Cotton Belt have held off putting seeds in all but small patches of irrigated ground out of fear they will simply dry up. [node:read-more:link]

When it comes to dealing with animal rights or environmental activists, those involved in livestock and poultry production must first identify what category the activist fits into, based on the passion of their beliefs. Some activists are so convinced animal agriculture is bad that they are unwilling to listen to other people’s viewpoints, Humphreys said.“Negotiation is not an option. [node:read-more:link]

Bloc voting by the three largest dairy co-ops in California in favor of joining the federal milk marketing order system could clinch the deal, but it’s not official until USDA announces the outcome of the producer referendum.The voting is closed in the producer referendum determining whether California dairy farmers will leave their state milk marketing order behind and join the federal order system.While nothing is official yet, some industry spokesmen are saying bloc voting in favor of making the switch by the state’s three largest dairy co-ops has sealed the deal.

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Two rival Washington cattlemen’s groups issued a joint communique Wednesday stating their shared discontent over wolves. The statement from the Washington Cattlemen’s Association and Cattle Producers of Washington stemmed from a summit last month in Ellensburg. The Washington Farm Bureau also participated and sent out the announcement that agricultural organizations are “fed up with wolves.”It was the first time the three groups have spoken as one on the subject.“I thought we should all try to get on the same page,” Cattle Producers President Scott Nielsen said Wednesday. [node:read-more:link]

The United States is losing its best farmland to development, even as the country’s population booms, according to a new report from the nonprofit conservation organization American Farmland Trust.  It’s a familiar sight for anyone who grew up in many Bay Area suburbs: The rolling pastureland or local fruit farms that once were on the outskirts of town have been replaced by a housing development or strip mall.According to the American Farmland Trust, the United States lost almost 31 million acres, or 3.2 percent of its total farmland, from [node:read-more:link]

Some farmers and lawmakers across rural America are getting serious about preventing nitrogen and phosphorous pollution. Will it be enough to avert a catastrophe in our rivers and oceans? [node:read-more:link]

Tyson Foods Inc. announced the launch of several initiatives -- including a Contract Poultry Farmers’ Bill of Rights -- aimed at enhancing communications and transparency with the thousands of independent farmers who grow its chickens. Tyson will also form an advisory council of poultry farmers and invest in technology for additional communications. [node:read-more:link]

When they introduced genetic modifications, the marketing mavens at Monsanto first told farmers that Roundup Ready soybeans would dramatically increase their crop yields by making the soybean plants immune to the Monsanto herbicide, Roundup, while it effectively killed the weeds in the farmers’ fields.  What they didn’t do was thoroughly explain how this would benefit consumers.  As a result, there was a consumer backlash that helped spawn the anti-GMO movement and lent credence to the nascent organic effort.Now, with their purchase of the licensing rights to the technology of Crispr-Cas9 s [node:read-more:link]

A beef plant opened in southern Idaho earlier this year, giving the area’s dairy producers a local option to send cows nearing end of life. The Times-News reports the Ida-Beef facility in Burley harvests more than 100 cows per day, but it’s designed to eventually process 350 to 400 cows each day.The company says the plant can reduce the stress on the animals and save dairies on freight costs. The area’s producers have typically shipped their cows for slaughter to facilities outside the state. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. cheese exports to Mexico would be restricted from using some common cheese names, threatening well-established markets. U.S. dairy groups are disturbed by preliminary information that Mexico is poised to put new restrictions on common cheese names such as “parmesan” and “feta” for products sold within its borders. [node:read-more:link]