"I think the tears are gone," Susan said. "It had gotten to the point that we had accepted it. I think it somehow became easier to do what we had to do," she said, of losing her family's entire herd of cattle due to bovine tuberculosis."We battled it day by day finding positive things to think about. We went to the Lord," she says. [node:read-more:link]
You've likely noticed that the competing interests of the day are all vying for millennials attention, and the practice of beating up on agriculture (the meat industry in particular) is a very popular ‘larger social issue’ that resonates with millennials.Just a few examples:A Colorado State University student has petitioned through change.org to stop the construction of a very small slaughter facility on campus that facilitates the instruction of meat science and best practices of animal handling.The documentary “What the Health” (aka Cowspiracy 2) is currently showing across the country in [node:read-more:link]
Issues surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMO) will be examined during a six-week online course through University of Wyoming Extension.The weekly sessions, beginning Monday, May 22, are meant to divide fact from fiction about biotechnology, says Jeremiah Vardiman, UW Extension educator who is leading the course.“This online course focuses on educating professionals in the health and nutrition fields, and any other inquisitive mind on the main topics that are discussed or brought up about GMOs,” he says. [node:read-more:link]
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a national nonprofit foundation established through bipartisan congressional support in the 2014 Farm Bill, and the Open Philanthropy Project, which identifies high-impact giving opportunities and makes grants, launched a partnership today to improve the welfare and productivity of egg-laying hens and commercially raised pigs. [node:read-more:link]
Last fall was the 107th sugar beet harvest for the Schlagel family, a legacy that spans five Front Range generations. It may also have been one of their last. Within five years, no genetically engineered crops will be allowed on county open space — and currently, GE is the only sugar beet seed available. It was late December, and Schlagel, Lisco, and Scott Miller (who raises cattle, grains and pumpkins alongside his father, Dick) sat with me by a perfect Christmas tree. Large windows gave a long view of the fields outside. [node:read-more:link]
Population growth isn’t the apocalyptic problem Malthusian greens once spent so much time making it out to be, but even though growth rates are slowing down, feeding our planet’s billions remains one of the biggest challenges for humanity. That task becomes even harder when you consider that our warming planet and its changing climate are going to create new challenges for farmers. Threats to food security are proliferating even as the demands placed on our agricultural system grow along with the global population. [node:read-more:link]
Monsanto Co. is opening its next chapter in genetic technology -- and may face tougher competition.The St. Louis company is investing in gene editing in an effort to keep an edge over rival suppliers of high-tech crop seeds. Monsanto has signed a string of licensing deals to add new gene-editing capabilities to its established methods of genetically modifying seeds, or creating GMOs. But startups and established competitors like DuPont Co. and Dow Chemical Co. [node:read-more:link]
Farm income in the Tenth District continued to decline in the first quarter, but at a slightly slower pace than in recent quarters. According to the survey, 73 percent of bankers reported farm income was lower than the year before. The decline in the first quarter marked the fourth consecutive year that District bankers reported farm income was lower than a year earlier (Chart 1). Despite the persistent decline, the pace of softening appeared to slow in the first quarter. [node:read-more:link]
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a national dairy marketing cooperative that serves and is owned by more than 13,000 members on nearly 8,000 farms in 48 states, is calling out animal rights group Compassion Over Killing (COK) after it received notification that undercover video footage of a member farm in Pennsylvania will be released this week. While one farm employee has been fired from the farm, DFA said a third-party audit showed no evidence of abuse at the farm and shamed the activist group for recording the video instead of reporting the alleged mistreatment to a manager. [node:read-more:link]
Former President Barack Obama gave his first speech outside the United States since leaving office at the Seeds & Chips conference, an annual gathering of policy makers, investors and technology entrepreneurs focused on innovations to improve the food chain. His brief speech was devoted to agriculture’s role in climate change, noting that after energy, agriculture is the second-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Now, he said, those emissions are starting to take their toll on food production itself. [node:read-more:link]
