Agriculture

Food businesses that import or prepare food for export from Canada will be required to follow new rules designed to remove unsafe food from the marketplace faster and stop the spread of disease, starting yesterday. The new Safe Foods for Canadians Regulations(SFCR), effective Jan. 15, cover a wide range of food safety-related efforts from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), including licensing, labeling standards, rules enforcement and new recall protocols. [node:read-more:link]

Medical centers in rural Wisconsin are working to meet the needs of underserved patients through technology — but that’s slow going and may not be the best replacement for human interaction in the future. [node:read-more:link]

One way that Texas landowners can protect themselves from liability is to ensure that guests sign liability waivers before engaging in certain activities.  For example, oftentimes hunters that plan to hunt on the property of another are asked to sign a liability waiver (also called a release of liability).  A recent Texas case, Quiroz v. [node:read-more:link]

Helping to make young people more connected to agriculture, the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has chosen its next book of the year: “Right This Very Minute,” written by Lisl H. Detlefsen and illustrated by Renee Kurilla. Subtitled, “A Table-to-Farm Book about Food and Farming,” the kids book is a delicious celebration of agriculture and is sure to inspire readers of all ages to learn more about where their food comes from. [node:read-more:link]

A former Northern California dairy worker has won a million-dollar settlement against his ex-employer’s attorney, who responded to a lawsuit the man filed against the dairy over wages by — according to the worker — contacting immigration officials to try to get him deported. Jose Arias had already settled a retaliation suit against his former employer, Angelo Dairy of Acampo (San Joaquin County), when on Monday lawyers for California Rural Legal Assistance and Legal Aid at Work announced the $1 million settlement of a suit against attorney Anthony Raimondo. [node:read-more:link]

The Animal Agriculture Alliance has released a new report that highlights how the animal agriculture industry shares the same values as today’s consumer with its commitment to animal care, environmental stewardship, responsible antibiotic use, food safety and nutrition. According to the report, there are about 2.1 million farms scattered throughout the U.S., and 99% of them are operated by families, with 20% of those being beginning farmers. [node:read-more:link]

Nando’s and Subway have refuted criticism leveled a them and six other food brands by World Animal Protection (WAP), a UK-based animal welfare activist organization. [node:read-more:link]

This week’s ruling by a federal judge striking down Iowa’s “ag-gag” law, which essentially bans undercover activity in agriculture, may cause angst in the agriculture community, but it also presents an opportunity.      The use of undercover video investigations is a strategy employed by animal welfare groups to bring public attention to their cause and influence farm and food company animal-care policies. The videos often show a farm worker appearing to commit animal abuse or mistreatment. Sometimes they are legitimate and sometimes not. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit against dicamba last week, but left open a door for the plaintiffs to expedite a new lawsuit in 2019. The original lawsuit, which was filed by four farm and environmental groups in 2017, argued that the EPA's 2016 registration of XtendiMax for over-the-top use on soybean and cotton fields was unlawful. [node:read-more:link]

Agriculture-dependent Indiana saw 10-percent of its dairy farms close in 2018. The Indiana State Board of Animal Health says there were 1,000 dairy farms in the state producing Grad A milk at the start of the year. By the end of 2018, there were 892 dairy farms still operating. [node:read-more:link]