Agriculture

The U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of the Army are proposing to delay the effective date of the Waters of the U.S. rule by two years. The 2015 rule, which redefined the scope of where the Clean Water Act applies, had an effective date of Aug. 28, 2015. Implementation of the 2015 rule is on hold as a result of the Sixth Circuit’s nationwide stay of the rule, but that stay may be affected by a pending Supreme Court case. The 2015 rule is also stayed in 13 states due to a North Dakota district court ruling. [node:read-more:link]

With the problems in animal agriculture today, veterinarians may be the most important advocate for the beef industry and food animal production.  "My job is to work with retailers of the beef industry, and tell them what a good job we do as an industry, how hard we work, how safe our food is, and how much we care about our animals and neighbors," Thomson said to producers. [node:read-more:link]

Antibiotic resistance represents a serious, complex public health consideration and there is work to be done, but over-simplified storylines and scare-mongering is not a productive path toward a science-based solution.Avoparsin (chemically similar to vancomycin) was banned in 1997 in the EU – largely the result of a rise in VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci) incidence in food animals. [node:read-more:link]

This is a film that will give a voice to the science-minded moms - the women who are too often drowned out by the fear mongers, the shamers, and the CelebMoms. Through interviews with "science moms" who are on the front lines of this struggle, we’ll dissect the bogus claims of these celebrities one by one and explain in simple language what the science really shows about GMOs, vaccines, homeopathy, and any of these topics that are often in the headlines, yet even more often are misunderstood.  We can’t change everyone’s minds, but we can make our voices heard. One mom at a time. [node:read-more:link]

Whether Republican or Democrat, most of us agree that tax reform and simplification is necessary. However, as is often the case, those supporting a piece of legislation overstate their talking points. As a farmer, I felt that I had to respond to those politicians who use farmers like me as the reason why the estate tax should be eliminated. [node:read-more:link]

Why are supply management programs such an anathema to so many people? Part of the reason can be traced to events that took place 34 years ago. [node:read-more:link]

A bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 16 would block the implementation of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule as it funds the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at $32 billion. The 2017 Interior and Environment bill would cut $125 million from current fiscal 2016 levels and is $1.1 billion less than the White House sought. The House Appropriations committee also marked up its Interior and Environment bill that includes a rider against WOTUS. [node:read-more:link]

CRISPR technology will ultimately impact what we eat, wear, and how we maintain our health — and it just crashed successfully into the big party known as the Advanced Transportation revolution. Specifically, a new path to producing fuel molecules that replace diesel. [node:read-more:link]

A survey conducted by the nonprofit think tank Sentience Institute (SI), in collaboration with Ipsos Group, found that 70 percent of Americans have some level of discomfort with how animals are being used in the food sector and support changes to how animals are raised and slaughtered for food. “The public support we see for these proposals is remarkable,” said SI Research Director Jacy Reese. “Less than 10% of the population is vegetarian, but you can eat turkeys for Thanksgiving and still want society as a whole to shift away from animal agriculture. [node:read-more:link]

The Washington State Department of Agriculture may adopt rules requiring producers to tag every cow with radio-frequency identification, a level of electronic monitoring opposed by some ranchers. The department says the tags will help follow a cow from birth to slaughter, aiding animal-health officials to speedily respond to diseases and bringing the state in line with coming USDA standards.“These (the rules) are all intended to track an animal within hours rather than within days,” State Veterinarian Brian Joseph told the Senate Agriculture Committee Nov. 14. [node:read-more:link]