Agriculture

The state House this week showed strong support for redistributing wolves in Washington, except from lawmakers whose districts could be candidates for taking in wolves. The House voted 85-13 on Tuesday to direct the Department of Fish and Wildlife to study moving wolves from Eastern Washington to Western Washington. The “no” votes, three Democrats and 10 Republicans, were cast by westside legislators whose districts include expansive tracts of wildlife habitat. [node:read-more:link]

egislation introduced in the Kansas Senate defining parameters for chicken houses would help expand the state’s currently modest chicken industry and is endorsed by Kansas State University faculty and county economic development groups. State officials and university ag experts testified this week that the poultry industry represents the one area of animal agriculture that is expanding, and said the bill would not weaken state environmental standards. [node:read-more:link]

A plan to create a fishing license lottery to get new people into the scallop fishery has passed a key hurdle in the Maine Legislature.The Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources unanimously approved the proposal on Feb. 14. It now moves to the full Legislature, which is likely to vote on it in the next couple of weeks.The average age of Maine scallop fishermen is higher than 50, and the fishery has been closed to new people since 2009. [node:read-more:link]

Having a no-antibiotics-ever requirement in a program that is supposed to promote better bird welfare puts a marketing claim above bird welfare.  One of the core standards for all Global Animal Partnership (GAP) animal agriculture welfare programs is that no antibiotics, animal byproducts in the feed or added hormones can ever be used. This means that if birds get sick and have to be treated with antibiotics, then they are no longer part of the GAP Program. Meat from broilers or the eggs from layers that have been treated have to be marketed elsewhere. [node:read-more:link]

Farmland values in the Seventh Federal Reserve District had an annual increase of 1 percent for 2017, following three consecutive yearly declines. Values for ‘good’ agricultural land in the fourth quarter of 2017 were overall unchanged from the third quarter, according to 185 survey respondents representing agricultural banks across the District. [node:read-more:link]

As is often seen when animals are rescued from burning homes or are suffering emergencies, first responders save their lives in what's known as mouth-to-snout resuscitation. However, under the current law, they can be held liable. A new bill introduced Friday in the California Senate would allow first responders to use emergency care on animals under duress without fear that they could be held legally liable for their actions. [node:read-more:link]

A bill that would further codify in state law a landmark Idaho Supreme Court decision on who owns stock watering rights on federally administered land has been sent to the House floor with a “do-pass” recommendation. [node:read-more:link]

Cities looking to address water-quality challenges in watersheds leading into their drinking water supply may want to see how Wichita, Kansas, works with upstream farmers to reduce pesticide and sediment in the Little Arkansas River watershed. Litigation over water quality, especially the federal case in Des Moines, Iowa, in recent years, has drawn a lot of attention. [node:read-more:link]

Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) are promoted as the solution to keeping sleepy drivers off the road, even if the load is livestock. That sounds simple on the surface, but ELDs are being used as control tools for unrealistic regulations.  Under Federal rules, after a maximum of 14 hours of time in the truck (11 hours of driving), truckers must take a whopping 10-hour sleep break! [node:read-more:link]

Last week, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said wardens had found more than 20 "nutria" in wetlands, rivers and canals and in Merced, Fresno and Stanislaus counties. Wardens were trying to figure out how to eradicate the rodents, which are as big as small dogs and breed as fast as rabbits. If they take hold, wardens said, nutria could wreak a lot of havoc. "They burrow in dikes and levees and roadbeds so they weaken infrastructure. [node:read-more:link]