Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamationfor 15 counties hit by the latest catastrophic flooding in the Midwest, Reynolds announced in a news release. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts issued an emergency declaration on Tuesday ahead of the storm that raced through the Midwest this week. As of Thursday, South Dakota Gov. Krisi Noem was preparing an emergency declaration for damage from the blizzard [node:read-more:link]
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced a settlement with Diversified Gas & Oil Corp. and Diversified Oil & Gas, (collectively referred to as Diversified) and Alliance Petroleum Co LLC (Alliance) over well-plugging violations in 23 Pennsylvania counties. [node:read-more:link]
Iowa will not add investigators to handle an increased number of pesticide drift complaints, favoring instead more efficient ways to handle complaint inspections, the state’s chief agriculture officer said. “I’ve got to manage the department of ag within my budget,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said during IowaWatch’s weekly radio program that aired this weekend.“It’s true, we’ve not seen a budget increase in the pesticide bureau, and I don’t expect to see a dramatic increase in the pesticide budget. [node:read-more:link]
A harsh late winter storm broadsided a vast swathe of the U.S. agriculture industry this week as heavy snow closed roads and buried cattle in the Plains while excessive rain flooded Midwest farm fields and swamped grain elevators. [node:read-more:link]
A meeting between President Trump and President Xi Jinping to sign a trade deal has been delayed until at least April. In the meantime, farmers are still fighting to offset the effects of the tensions (and tariffs) between the U.S. and China. Mark Watne, president of the North Dakota Farmers Union, detailed these struggles.Among members of his union, “their largest concern comes with the fact that their farm income is off about 50% from probably five, six years ago,” Watne told Yahoo Finance’s First Trade. [node:read-more:link]
The Nebraska Farm Bureau president says farm and ranch losses to the devastating flooding could reach $1 billion in the state. President Steve Nelson estimates $400 million on crop losses because of crops that will be planted late — if at all. He also estimates up to $500 million in livestock losses as the state struggles with swollen rivers and breached or overtopped levees following heavy rain and snowmelt. He told the Omaha World-Herald , "That gets us close to a billion dollars. I would not be surprised to see the lost agriculture numbers go over a billion dollars. [node:read-more:link]
A foot of new snow fell in the Panhandle on Wednesday, while rivers and creeks already swollen from melted ice and snow jumped their banks across eastern Nebraska.State officials urged Nebraskans to stay put in areas where heavy snow and high winds have made travel dangerous, and asked those threatened by flooding to heed evacuation warnings and to avoid water that has spilled over roads.The weather system — which Gov. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture joins the nation in celebrating National Ag Day, which highlights agriculture’s crucial role in everyday life, and honors the farmers, foresters, scientists, producers and many others who contribute to America’s bountiful harvest. As part of this effort, USDA is launching a new Youth and Agriculture website to connect young people and youth-serving organizations with Department-wide resources that engage, empower, and educate the next generation of agricultural leaders. [node:read-more:link]
This brings me to my big thought. One of the most discussed issues in animal agriculture today is the use of antibiotics. The concern being that they are being overused, unmonitored and dumped into the food chain. It made me pause and consider that maybe it is important to reiterate the process we take in treating sick cattle and the rules we are required to follow. [node:read-more:link]
Today, scientists worldwide are using gene editing to help solve a broad array of difficult challenges – seeking solutions to improve human nutrition and health, environmental stewardship and food insecurity. For example, one possible application is to treat sickle cell, an inherited disease that affects 100,000 people in the United States. It can cause severe pain, heart failure and early death. Imagine being able to prevent it. [node:read-more:link]
