Agriculture

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is asking deer hunters to have their kills checked professionally for chronic wasting disease (CWD). CWD is a contagious and a fatal neurological disorder that affects members of the deer family known scientifically as cervids. The state said import restrictions have been designed to protect these native herds, which include white-tailed deer and elk in Tennessee. "It’s possible that every deer you kill will have to be taken first to a mandatory check-station for sample collection. [node:read-more:link]

Low-tech, time-tested forest, farm and land management techniques are effective, cheap and carry benefits well beyond tackling climate change.Conserving and restoring American forest, farm and natural lands could cut a substantial chunk of the country's emissions, helping meet greenhouse gas reduction goals without relying on undeveloped technologies, a new report finds.A team of 38 researchers spent more than two years looking at "natural climate solutions"—a range of strategies that includes planting trees in cities, preventing the conversion of natural grassland to farmland and shifting [node:read-more:link]

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) on Wednesday launched a partnership “to improve environmental outcomes while optimizing productivity and profitability.” “Many practices that increase soil health and water quality also boost farmers’ bottom lines,” said Suzy Friedman, senior director of agricultural sustainability at EDF.“EDF and NCGA have worked together for many years to align economic incentives and environmental outcomes. [node:read-more:link]

Farmers, Fertilizer Companies, Groups Working to Address Water Quality Issues. Blair said various groups in the region, wanting to act on their own on the algae issue, could not convince Ohio Gov. John Kasich to meet with them. Instead, the Republican governor allocated $3 billion to improve water works and various other projects in the area, he said.It was frustrating not to be heard by the governor, Blair said. As a fertilizer retailer, The Andersons is on the front lines in attempting to ensure fertilizer is applied correctly and that runoff into Lake Erie is limited, he said. [node:read-more:link]

The trend is both simple and complex. For example, current numbers are not unprecedented, even in the recent past, having reached 70 bankruptcies in 2010. However, current price levels and the trajectory of the current trends suggest that this trend has not yet seen a peak. Not surprisingly, bankruptcy numbers inversely follow the rise and fall of commodity prices. After a comparatively steep spike in chapter 12 filings during the Great Recession—that 2010 peak—ag prices started rising across the board, and bankruptcies logically pivoted and started to decline. [node:read-more:link]

For example, The Guardian’s headline read like this: Huge reduction in meat-eating ‘essential’ to avoid climate breakdown. Their article goes on to explain that, “U.K. and U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Members of DxE Bay Area chapter, whose mission is “total animal liberation,” conducted a protest Sept. 29 at McCoy’s Poultry Services in Sonoma County. They claim they believed they were following laws when trying to help chickens they said were in distress. Sonoma County animal officials took custody of 15 chickens, including six that were dead, that had been taken by the protesters, according to the report.Sonoma County Sheriff’s Capt. [node:read-more:link]

If history is any guide, the trade war with China will have lasting affects for U.S. farmers and their soybean crops that the president won’t be boasting about. Donald Trump is set to meet Xi Jinping, his counterpart in China, at the G-20 summit and traders are optimistic for a resolution. But a flashback to Richard Nixon’s 1973 soybean embargo and Jimmy Carter’s 1980 Soviet grain ban suggest that what’s already happened this year may lead to permanent changes ahead as China seeks alternatives to the U.S. market."It’s possible that China will never fully trust the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

 rare disease has popped up in a Teton County cattle herd. The Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory and the National Veterinary Services Laboratory found five cows infected with brucellosis, a bacterial disease that can pass from wild animals to cattle, according to a press release from the Wyoming Livestock Board. The disease causes cattle, elk and bison to abort their pregnancies. All reported cases in Wyoming since 1988 were caused by transmission from wildlife to livestock.

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U.S. farmers would need about 11,000 markets the size of Sri Lanka to replace Chinese soybean purchases, but these days many growers will take any shred of new business they can get. A small but growing number of farmers have all but given up waiting for diplomatic solutions and started scrambling themselves to help open new markets and salvage existing ones disrupted by tariffs, according to dozens of interviews with producers, industry officials and trade lobbying groups.“Outside of China, foreign soybean importers have capitalized on bargain-priced U.S. supplies. [node:read-more:link]