Agriculture News
Judge Orders Dairy Group to pay Farmers $50 Million
Hoosier Ag Today | Posted on June 15, 2016The Dairy Farmers of America cooperative has agreed to a $50 million revised settlement paid to Northeast U.S. dairy farmers. The settlement stems from a class-action lawsuit that accused the marketing group of trying to drive down milk prices. The revised settlement includes new protections to prevent retaliation to farmers that was missing from a settlement proposal denied by a federal judge in March. Settlement papers were filed on Thursday and require approval by a U.S. District Judge. If approved, the cooperative will pay an average of $4,000 to more than 8,000 dairy farms.
Maine governor, HSUS engage in war of words
Meat + Poultry | Posted on June 15, 2016The Humane Society of the United States intended to call attention to alleged animal abuses at New England’s largest egg producer in Turner, Maine, but the state’s governor recently took issue with the animal rights group’s tactics — the use of undercover video. In a strongly worded letter to HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle, Gov. Paul LePage took the organization to task for using the undercover video to publicly rebuke the company in order to prompt an investigation instead of notifying his office directly. “I am writing to express my disappointment with your recent media event regarding your ‘Request for Investigation of Shell Egg Production Facility in Turner, Maine,’” LePage wrote. “Because of the manner in which this was brought to our attention, I can only conclude you are more concerned with fundraising than you are about the animals involved; in this case, chickens.”
Humane Society seeks probe of New England egg farm
Boston Herald | Posted on June 15, 2016An animal welfare group released undercover video Tuesday of what it called cruel and inhumane conditions at New England's largest egg-producing farm, and said it had asked state and federal officials to investigate. The employee had been hired to work at the facility, managed by Pennsylvania-based Hillandale Farms, but was secretly investigating for the society, said Paul Shapiro, the Humane Society of the United States's vice president of farm animal protection.
Greenpeace Sued Under Anti-Mafia Law
Consumer Freedom | Posted on June 15, 2016Greenpeace just got hit with its own RICO lawsuit in federal court by a Canadian logging company. The saga started back in 2010 when “a cabal of radical environmental [NGOs] … agreed to stop their campaigns of customer harassment” if members of the Forest Products Association of Canada did what these activists demanded. Sound familiar? It’s a tactic called extortion ripped straight from the mobster playbook—pay up or something bad “might” happen. The lawsuit emerged after Greenpeace attacked Resolute Forest Product anyway, accusing them of illegal logging and launching a vindictive campaign dubbed “Resolute: Forest Destroyer.”
The Resolute lawsuit alleges Greenpeace has a “pattern and practice of fraud, extortion, deceit, and other illegal activities” spanning decades. But the lawsuit’s breakdown of Greenpeace’s larger strategy is even better since it applies to activist NGOs in general. “It identifies or manufactures a hot-button environmental issue; disseminates sensational, alarmist, and false claims about impending calamity related to that issue; targets a high-profile company to vilify for the impending calamity, including by staging fake videos, photographs, and other evidence: bombards supporters with urgent requests to “DONATE NOW”; and directs extortive demands, tortious interference, and other illegal conduct at its targets and their customers. When Greenpeace’s extortion succeeds, it insists that its target publicly endorse its campaign and lies, which it then uses to drive more donations and attacks.”
Becoming a successful farmer on 30 acres
agebb.missouri.edu | Posted on June 15, 2016here are times when rural homeowners on small acreages decide they want to do more with their land than mow it. Believe it or not, this is a common question at county extension centers according to Tim Schnakenberg, agronomy specialist with University of Missouri Extension. "Someone has 20 to 30 acres, and they want to be a farmer. What most people find are that the options and niches available are endless, but the resources are limited. The top resources needed are time and money," said Schnakenberg. Most farming enterprises take a lot of capital investment to get started (for example buying land, cattle, machinery, hoop houses and buildings). There also needs to be enough time in the day to get all of the work done.
"It is difficult to work a 40 to 50-hour week in town and try to farm in the evenings as the sun is going down. Don't underestimate that farming is hard work," said Schnakenberg. Although farming on 20, 30 or 40 acres is difficult, but it can be done.
As Seed Companies Combine, Farmers Suspect Competition and Innovation Will Suffer
AgWeb | Posted on June 15, 2016The latest news tha Bayer wants to buy Monsanto has the agriculture industry wondering yet again how the growing consolidation in the seed and crop chemical industry could affect farmers large and small. “I think (feelings about the merger) are mixed … across the country,” says Ken McCauley, a farmer from White Cloud, Kansas. Like other farmers, he is concerned that less competition in the marketplace will drive up input prices, but he’s also concerned that consolidation will also affect the speed at which new products come to market. After all, seed and crop companies might be less aggressive with innovation if they have fewer competitors to beat. Seed dealers are also concerned. “Our perspective is the same as it is on the farm,” says Tom Burrus, president of Burrus Hybrids in Arenzville, Ill. “Consolidation impacts not only the grower-- it also impacts us.” His company works with a handful of companies involved in the pending major seed deals, and if these mergers are successful, his company will go from having five suppliers to three.
Such pressures may be unavoidable in ag right now, though.
National Pork Board leads on antibiotic awareness
KTICradio | Posted on June 13, 2016The National Pork Board continues to take a prominent role in the ongoing conversation about antibiotic use in pork production. From the Don’t Wait… Be Ready! national producer awareness and education campaign, to ongoing engagement with consumers and influencers, to increased investment in antibiotic research, the National Pork Board is taking unprecedented action on this globally important topic. Much of the National Pork Board’s 2016 efforts have centered on ensuring that all producers are aware of and prepared for the Jan. 1, 2017, implementation of new regulations from the Food and Drug Administration that will affect on-farm antibiotic use. Materials available from the Pork Checkoff’s online Antibiotics Resource Center explain how producers should prepare for the expansion of the veterinary feed directive (VFD) and the elimination of growth promotion use of antibiotics deemed medically important to human health.
The Race to Find Fish Feeds That Don’t Bankrupt the Ocean
National Georgraphic | Posted on June 13, 2016Wild fisheries are stable at best and declining at worst. That means we need aquaculture to meet the world’s growing demand for protein. And to feed the world sustainably, the industry has to figure out how to feed farmed fish without using wild fish stocks.
Fish feed stood out in our research as a huge opportunity for innovation. Most farmed fish need some form of prepared feed to grow, and fish feed prices are on the rise as demand strongly outpaces supply. The aquaculture industry has doubled over the past 20 years, but it is still using fish feeds developed in the 1990s. It’s time for a new approach.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich signs medical marijuana bill into law
Cleveland.com | Posted on June 13, 2016With little fanfare, Gov. John Kasich signed a law creating a strictly regulated medical marijuana program. patients will have an "affirmative defense" against prosecution for marijuana possession charges if they have written permission from their doctor to use marijuana in a form allowed under the law. It could be a year or more until Ohioans can walk into a dispensary and buy medical marijuana. Ohio is the 25th state to pass a comprehensive medical marijuana program, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Ohio law prohibits smoking or growing marijuana at home but allows cannabis oils, tinctures, patches, edibles and plant material to be used and sold in state-licensed dispensaries.
Ontario dairy farmers dumping skim milk into manure pits and sewer lagoons
National Post | Posted on June 13, 2016Already forced for months to dump skim milk because there isn’t enough processing capacity in Ontario, a bad situation could get worse if action isn’t taken to modernize aging plants, Ontario’s dairy farmers are warning. In testimony before the Senate’s Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, Peter Gould, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Ontario said there could be a devastating impact on rural Ontario and rural Canada in the absence of a well-thought-out strategy. “The status quo is not an option. Doing nothing is not an option,” Gould said. “It’s not a pretty picture.” Processing plants that turned skim milk into powder hit their capacity 12 months ago in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. The industry has been disposing of skim milk almost every day since, he said.