FDA's Scott Gottlieb wrote to the state Ag Commissioners reinforcing the agency’s commitment to work in partnership with the states to effectively implement FSMA. Issues that are still being addressed include terminal markets, dispute resolution, on farm visits and agriculture water. [node:read-more:link]
Rural Americans are turning their backs on the industry that made the U.S. the biggest meat-exporting country in the world. Residents of Tonganoxie, a 5,300-person town in northeast Kansas, spent part of the fall hanging white-and-red placards that say “No Tyson in Tongie” on fenceposts and pickup trucks. Their efforts were part of a public push against Tyson Foods Inc., TSN 0.10% the largest U.S. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. opioid crisis that’s sweeping through America’s heartland has hit farmers harder than the wider rural population. Almost three-quarters of U.S. farmers and farm workers say they have been directly affected by opioid dependence, either from taking an illegal dose or dealing with a habit themselves, or by knowing someone who has used. That compares with about 45 percent for the rural population as a whole, according to a poll commissioned by the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union, the two biggest U.S. farmer groups. [node:read-more:link]
America’s food and agriculture sectors feed the economy and fuel the nation. Together, they account for roughly one-fifth of the country’s economic activity, supporting over 22 million jobs or nearly 15% of US employment. [node:read-more:link]
Minnesota livestock producers have until Dec. 15 to apply for grant money to help prevent wolf attacks. The deadline was extended three weeks due to a late harvest that kept farmers in the fields longer than average, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture said.The Wolf-Livestock Conflict Prevention Grants are a new program funded by the 2017 Minnesota Legislature with $240,000 available over the next two years. [node:read-more:link]
The risk of serious injury or death has always been a part of farming. But the nation’s growing embrace of small-scale production of local and organic crops is drawing more amateurs into the field, and inexperienced growers are increasingly getting maimed and even killed, often by old, unsafe machinery. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today provided local food service professionals the flexibility they need to serve wholesome, nutritious, and tasty meals in schools across the nation. The new School Meal Flexibility Rule, published today, makes targeted changes to standards for meals provided under USDA’s National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, and asks customers to share their thoughts on those changes with the Department.The interim final rule published today gives schools the option to serve low-fat (1 percent) flavored milk. [node:read-more:link]
A dairy industry group announced reforms Monday after undercover videos at two Florida dairy farms showed cows being kicked, punched and beaten with metal bars. Southeast Milk Inc., which ships and markets milk for dairies in Florida and three other states, will work with members to introduce or enhance 24-hour video surveillance of dairy farm operations, the organization announced at a news conference at Zolfo Springs, in Hardee County.It will hold mandatory remedial training sessions for dairy owners and operators next month. [node:read-more:link]
More than one-fifth - 20.4% - of the nation’s economy is linked, either directly or indirectly, to the food and agriculture sectors, according to a recent study commissioned by the Corn Refiners Association. The study also found that more than one-fourth of all American jobs - 28% - are similarly connected. [node:read-more:link]
The documentary traces the extraordinary changes coming to America’s food system as more and more consumers flock to farmers’ markets, embrace farm-to-table lifestyles and insist on knowing where their food is coming from. At the center of the film are the farmers, young and old, who provide the spirit and energy to bring urban and rural America together over what both share in common: our food. These farmers reflect nothing less than the face of America. [node:read-more:link]
