Agriculture

China is eager to modernize the operations of its 260 million mostly small-scale farmers, with Iowa held up not only as a model but an ideal: In the words of one Chinese official, Iowa is “the place where the dream for modern farming began.” Iowa, meanwhile, craves ever more access to the Chinese market and its growing middle class.Kimberley stood there Saturday morning thanks to a famous visitor to his own Iowa farm in February 2012: Chinese President Xi Jinping surveyed the vast fields, towering grain bins and enormous tractors and saw inspiration for the future of rural China. [node:read-more:link]

Judge Thomas Rice of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washingon issued a ruling earlier this month that is important for agricultural producers to be aware of when purchasing liability insurance policies.  Specifically, Judge Rice held that when a Washington dairy was sued for contaminating drinking water with manure, its insurance company was justified in denying coverage based upon absolute pollution exclusion clauses in the dairy’s policies. [node:read-more:link]

The Heritage Report recommends that the safety net provided by the Farm Bill’s Commodity Title be eliminated for crop and dairy farmers although analysis of a more modest proposal offered during the 2008 Farm Bill debate concluded that most farms and ranches would not be able to survive the resulting erosion in farm income. The Heritage Report’s recommendation comes at a time when national net farm income has fallen 50 percent over the past four years and, regionally, farmers have endured difficult conditions for an even longer period. [node:read-more:link]

As nationwide reports of dicamba-related damage to soybeans and other crops continue to climb, American Soybean Association (ASA) President and Illinois farmer Ron Moore reiterated the association’s commitment to find a solution to the issue: “This issue isn’t going away—in fact, it’s only getting worse. There are now a reported 2,242 complaints affecting 3.1 million acres of soybeans in 21 of our 30 soybean-growing states, and we expect that number to continue to rise. [node:read-more:link]

A U.S. fishing magnate known as The Codfather who pleaded guilty to evading fishing quotas and smuggling money to Portugal was sentenced on Monday to nearly four years in prison. Carlos Rafael, who owns one of the nation's largest commercial fishing operations, falsely claimed his vessels caught haddock or pollock when they had actually caught other species subject to stricter quotas, federal authorities said. He then sold the fish for cash, some of which was smuggled overseas.Rafael pleaded guilty in March to false labeling and fish identification and tax evasion, among other charges. [node:read-more:link]

North America is seeing an increasing number of "farm mega-homes," large estates built on agricultural land. Even if mansion owners are not farming on a large scale, some have the ability to receive hefty tax exemptions, a loophole that city councils are trying to regulate.The loss of agricultural land to housing development could have consequences in the future. Farmland in North America is not only facing threats from increasingly temperatures and prolonged droughts — but also from the rise of mansions.  [node:read-more:link]

Munoz's death, which occurred in the nearby town of Shelley last September, was one of two fatal accidents last year involving dairymen who either choked or drowned in pits of cow manure. Another laborer from Mexico died last month after he was crushed by a skid loader, used to move feed and manure. The deaths have rattled Idaho's dairy industry as well as local immigrant communities that do the bulk of the work producing nearly 15 billion pounds of milk annually on the industrial-sized farms in the state's southern prairie. [node:read-more:link]

China has delayed enforcing sweeping new controls on food imports following complaints by the United States, Europe and other trading partners that they would disrupt billions of dollars in trade. Rules requiring each food shipment to have an inspection certificate from a foreign government were due to take effect Sunday. But Beijing has decided to grant a transitional period of two years following comments by other governments, according to a document submitted to the World Trade Organization. [node:read-more:link]

It’s nothing new to read about animal rights extremistsremoving animals from a farm because they believe they are rescuing them from a life of mistreatment. But a group of young people from an organization called Denver Baby Animal Save have entered territory that is at least new to me.Not only did they apparently steal three chickens from a farm, but they also admitted to doing so with a post on Facebook. Sadly, they see what they did as noble. Fortunately, it appears most people disagree. [node:read-more:link]

The Environmental Protection Agency has not held up its end of an agreement with the livestock industry to develop methods for estimating airborne emissions, particularly odors, from farms, EPA’s Office of the Inspector General said in a report. The agreement, reached in 2005, was intended to provide livestock operations with guidelines for complying with the Clean Air Act and environmental emergency response rules. [node:read-more:link]