Georgia lawmakers on Monday passed legislation to create an oyster farming industry in the state despite opposition from fishermen and environmentalists who consider it too restrictive. With a vote of 35-19 in the senate, H.B. 501, which passed the house last week, now goes to the desk of Gov. Brian Kemp. [node:read-more:link]
While the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) remains in winter hibernation, the rest of the river system is overflowing with excess water from snowmelt and recent rains. The flooding is preventing barges from moving grain and fertilizer for spring planting. [node:read-more:link]
On January 17, more than 30 organic dairy farmers—most of whom sell their milk to Organic Valley or Maple Hill—gathered at a farm near Syracuse, New York. The “emergency meeting” was called without the processors’ knowledge, and attendees discussed who had lost contracts, who had seen trucks from Texas hauling in cheap organic milk, and falling prices. “The reason we had it was just to keep each other informed,” said Dave Nichols, a grassfed organic dairy farmer who sells to Maple Hill. “None of us really knew what was going on on the other side of the fence. [node:read-more:link]
A national animal rights group will ask millions of its supporters to boycott vacationing in Iowa to protest the state's new "ag gag" law. "People who care about animal rights, who don't want abusers protected, won't be visiting Iowa," said David Matulewicz-Crowley, legal advocacy counsel for Mercy For Animals.Animal welfare groups say the law prevents exposure of abuses, such as slamming piglets into concrete floors and confining animals in small cages.Gov. [node:read-more:link]
A tornado in New Mexico that damaged homes and injured people also hit several dairies, forcing at least one farm to euthanize more than 150 cattle. [node:read-more:link]
Much like a canary in a coal mine, Florida chickens have warned researchers of a rare but deadly mosquito-borne virus in their midst. These sentinels have revealed that eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) originates in the state's panhandle and then spreads as far north as Nova Scotia, Canada, the new study found. [node:read-more:link]
Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles announced today that sales of Kentucky hemp products in 2018 were more than 3½ times higher than the previous year and that the amount that farmers were paid for their harvests more than doubled.“When I became Commissioner of Agriculture, I promised to make Kentucky the epicenter of hemp production in the United States,” Commissioner Ryan Quarles said. “Look at us now. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is launching a new “Pests and Diseases” webpage. The new page lists all pest and disease programs managed by APHIS as part of its mission to protect American agriculture and natural resources. On the new page, users can search by type (plant, animal), keyword (avian, fruit fly, cotton), or by the specific pest or disease (coconut rhinoceros beetle, brucellosis). [node:read-more:link]
February Survey Results at a Glance: • Overall index moves above growth neutral for the 11th time in past 12 months. • Bank CEOs project a 6.1 percent decline in farm equipment sales over the next year. Last February, bankers expected a 6.9 percent reduction. • Weak farm income has pushed almost two-thirds of banks have increased collateral requirements on farm loans. • Almost one-third of banks have increased the farm loan rejection rate due to anemic farm income. [node:read-more:link]
The likelihood of more prolonged flooding along the Missouri River increased Thursday night when the Army Corps of Engineers was forced to increase water releases from Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota to 90,000 cubic feet per second because of inflows from the Niobrara River and other watersheds, the Corps stated. Releases from Gavins Point quickly spiked from 17,000 cfs just a few days ago to 37,000 cfs on Thursday morning. By Thursday evening, the Corps had nearly tripled the release levels. [node:read-more:link]
