Agriculture

Member states have voted in favour of an almost complete ban on the use of neonicotinoid insecticides across the EU. The move represents a major extension of existing restrictions, in place since 2013. Manufacturers and some farming groups have opposed the move, saying the science remains uncertain.  Back in 2013 the European Union opted for a partial ban on the use of the three chemicals in this class: Imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam.The restrictions applied to crops including maize, wheat, barley, oats and oil seed rape. [node:read-more:link]

It has been said that organizations are best defined by what they oppose versus what they support. That seems too cynical a view of the world. I want to talk about what we stand for.Canadian agriculture stands for science-based regulations and rules of trade. Farmers across this country depend on access to international markets for their livelihood.Farmers in Mortlach, Sask., must have access to Japan, Indonesia, Algeria and about 100 other countries to ensure their farms are economically viable. [node:read-more:link]

Sixth District- Atlanta– “Agriculture conditions across the District were mixed. Drought conditions improved in much of the District although light frosts in March affected some crops. Agricultural exporters indicated that the weaker dollar was having a favorable impact. On a year-over-year basis, prices paid to farmers in February were up for rice, beef, broilers, and eggs and down for corn, cotton, and soybeans. [node:read-more:link]

The early rounds of the 2018 row crop season have some notable similarities to 2014. Winter temperatures were the lowest since that year in many northern and central areas, punctuated by a harsh cold wave in the first three weeks of April. Much of the Midwest and the Northern Plains had the coldest April 1-18 stretch on record. The cold, along with several occurrences of heavy and record-breaking snow, have led to fieldwork getting off to a very slow start. [node:read-more:link]

The drive to address agricultural animal welfare increases as the demand for food of animal origins correspondingly grows. A major emerging challenge is the continuous need to meet animal protein demands while simultaneously protecting animal welfare and developing broadly sustainable production systems. Large-scale, intensive systems predominate production animal agriculture in the United States. [node:read-more:link]

Industrial-scale hog producers knew for decades that noxious smells from open-air sewage pits tormented neighbors but didn't change their livestock-raising methods to keep production costs low, the lawyer for farm neighbors told jurors in a federal lawsuit. The first in a series of federal suits raising accusations of nauseating hog operations in eastern North Carolina headed to a 10-member jury after attorneys summarized the evidence presented at a three-week civil trial. The test case involved 10 neighbors of one, 15,000-hog operation producing an estimated 76 tons of waste per day. [node:read-more:link]

Many large employers in South Dakota are facing a longstanding, critical issue. State Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Dave Owen says employers will need to look to immigration for workers. He says the state has a long tradition in doing just that.“All through the history of South Dakota, that workforce has come from not only out of state, but out of the country, with legal immigrants and legal refugees,” Owen said. [node:read-more:link]

Ongoing drought and wildfires have cattle ranchers in at least five Southwestern U.S. states scrambling for hay or pastureland, while others are selling off some of their herds. Extreme and exceptional drought conditions have contributed to wildfires in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico, delaying the growth of or destroying grass and wheat used to feed cattle in spring. [node:read-more:link]

Monsanto Co is launching the first product that deactivates a controversial weed killer inside spraying equipment after it is used, the company said, its latest attempt to prevent unintended crop damage associated with the herbicide.

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For a herd of animals that’s ultimately headed for the slaughterhouse, the bison on Roam Ranch are part of a remarkably warm and fuzzy fairytale. Less than a year ago, the 450 acres of Texas land that comprise the ranch were all but dead after a century of over-tilling and inadequate recovery time between crop rotations. Rain would fall, but it would simply run off; the dirt was too damaged to absorb even the littlest bits of water. Many of the paddocks were bare, and what few patches of grass did exist were failing to grow and multiply. [node:read-more:link]