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SARL Members and Alumni News

WI:Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal axes state farm-to-school post

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Posted on April 13, 2017

For as long as it lasts, food and nutrition director Shelley Juedes brings in a bountiful array of fresh produce: scrumptious apples from nearby Rim's Edge Orchard and fresh vegetables — broccoli, onions, potatoes and more — from longtime area farmer Lenny Semerad. "What a major difference it is to have that fresh produce instead of getting it from a vendor where it might have sat in a warehouse for weeks," said Juedes, who would like to increase what she buys from local farmers if she could figure out how to do it."It's fresher. It looks more appetizing," she said. "It's great for the kids, and it benefits the local farmers, too. It's a win-win."That win-win was exactly what the Legislature had in mind when it created the Farm to School office in the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection in 2009.Since then, advocates say, the Wisconsin office has become the gold standard for the farm-to-school movement nationally, connecting growers and schools, helping to secure hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants, improving children's nutrition and knowledge of agriculture, and pumping millions of dollars into the state's economy. Gov. Scott Walker has proposed cutting the office's now-vacant coordinator position and 15-member advisory council as part of his 2017-'19 budget, a move that would save $132,800 over the biennium.


Oregon Representative defends farmers with example of his own family's dilemma

Oregon Capital Insider | Posted on April 10, 2017

Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, recently rose to the defense of Oregon's farmers after agriculture was criticized for receiving an oversized helping of government support. The House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources is considering a bill to establish the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Fund, which would buy conservation easements from farmers and help them with succession planning.Representatives of several environmental groups and Tax Fairness Oregon — a nonprofit that advocates against tax breaks — came out against House Bill 3249 as being unaffordable.Critics argued that farmers already benefit from property tax breaks and other programs that will amount to $550 million over the next biennium, even though agriculture's conservation of water quality is insufficiently monitored and enforced.The involvement of agricultural groups in designing the fund proposal also came under fire, with critics casting it as a program aimed at helping private interests with public money.Clem, who chairs the committee, pointed out that farmers in Oregon have already collectively had their property values reduced by the state's land use system, which aims to preserve open space and agriculture.HB 3249 is intended to coax them into making these protections permanent by purchasing easements that extinguish a property's development rights, he said.


Bill for N.H. dairy farmer dough on to governor’s desk for signature

Concord Monitor | Posted on April 10, 2017

A measure providing up to $2 million in emergency funding for New Hampshire dairy farmers strained by last year’s drought is ready for Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s signature. The Senate on Thursday concurred with changes made by the House last month to the measure. The bill originated in the Senate.Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, a Republican from Wolfeboro, was the bill’s prime sponsor. He said the legislation provides a fair formula for distributing the money. He said higher-than-anticipated feed costs have threatened to put many dairy farms out of business.One local dairy farmer agreed, saying he’s glad to see the measure clear both chambers.


Water quality bill stays alive in Iowa Senate, but some lawmakers have reservations

Des Moines Register | Posted on April 6, 2017

Legislation aimed at improving Iowa's water quality remained alive in the Iowa Senate Wednesday, despite serious reservations by some lawmakers who are unhappy with the measure's funding plans.Senate File 482, which has been proposed by Gov. Terry Branstad, mirrors legislation considered in the House last year. It would fund water quality projects by shifting money now spent on state infrastructure projects and by using sales tax dollars Iowans already pay on their water bills The bill was approved on a 2-1 Senate subcommittee vote, advancing it to the Senate Appropriations Committee and keeping the issue eligible for debate as the 2017 session nears adjournment. Sen. Jack Shipley, R-Nodaway, who chaired the meeting, said the measure isn't perfect, but it offers the potential to make progress on water quality problems.


Bill would roll back Tennessee's factory farm regulations

The Tennessean | Posted on April 6, 2017

Most of Tennessee’s factory farms would no longer need state permits that regulate animal waste disposal, under the terms of a bill before the state legislature. If it passes, only animal farms that actually pollute groundwater or waterways would be subject to oversight. The debate pits the multibillion-dollar agricultural industry against environmentalists and state water quality regulators. Farmers say the current permit process is too time consuming and expensive, while conservationists and state officials warn of uncontrolled pollution by farmers who don’t follow industry standards.


$5.6 million for Oregon farm-to-school funding passes key committee

Capital Press | Posted on April 6, 2017

Committee’s chairman Brian Clem noted that existing farm-to-school funding would be eliminated under the 2017-2019 budget recommended by Gov. Kate Brown and halved under the proposal by the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. A bill directing $5.6 million to Oregon’s farm-to-school food program has won unanimous approval from the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Now, House Bill 2038 must compete against other spending bills in the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, which is prioritizing requests for funding in the next biennium amid a projected state budget deficit of $1.6 billion.


Oregon set to double recycling rate to 10 cents a can

USA Today | Posted on April 5, 2017

Oregon’s first-in-the-nation bottle recycling program will now double the payout for used soda cans and glass bottles, and frugal residents have been stockpiling for months in anticipation. With other recycling options now commonplace, this eco-trailblazing Pacific Northwest state is hoping to revamp the program with the increase from 5 to 10 cents for bottled and canned water, soda, beer and malt beverages — regardless what their labels say.Oregon’s 1971 Bottle Bill — groundbreaking for its era in combating litter — has been replicated in nine other states and Guam. Michigan is the only other with an across-the-board 10 cent-payout, although booze and other large bottles go for 10 cents in California and 15 cents in Maine and Vermont.


New opioid rules largely silent on veterinarian concerns

Bangor Daily News | Posted on April 5, 2017

The state has released new rules for doctors, veterinarians and pharmacies in support of a state law designed to curb drug abuse by setting limits on opioid prescriptions. Veterinarians hoped the rules would address a host of concerns about their role in the policing of opioid prescriptions.They don’t.“There aren’t very many changes that I could see,” veterinarian Amanda Bisol, legislative chairwoman for the Maine Veterinary Medical Association and owner of Animal Medical Clinic in Skowhegan, said. At issue is Chapter 488, a law that strictly limits opioid prescriptions for chronic and acute pain, except for people with cancer, in hospice, receiving palliative care or using the medication for addiction treatment. It also requires that doctors, including vets, check the state’s prescription monitoring database before prescribing and refuse to write a prescription if the patient is over the new state-imposed limit.The law was passed last year as emergency legislation and went into effect Jan. 1.“We included veterinarians with the support and urging of physicians and other prescribers — because we know that opiate addicts are diverting drugs from their pets,” Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Samantha Edwards said.However, vets say it’s rare for people to take their pets’ pain medication, possibly because most pet prescriptions are written for a fraction of the amount a human would need to get high.


Montana bill would label raw milk, related products

Great Falls Tribune | Posted on April 5, 2017

In response to a House-approved bill that would legalize raw milk, lawmakers are considering a bill that would label it and products made from it.  Senate Bill 300 would make it so “fresh” or unpasteurized milk and related products would require a warning label for consumers who are vulnerable to bacterial infections. That would include pregnant women, young children or infants.The bill passed the Senate 29-to-21 in February and is now in the House of Representatives.Another bill, House Bill 325, would allow milk producers to sell unpasteurized milk. That bill passed the House 69-to-30 and is now being considered by the Senate.The House Judiciary Committee didn’t take immediate action on the labeling bill Thursday.“We’re not quite the same conditions we were 100 years ago when we started pasteurized milk, but the fact of the matter is we like to make decisions based on evidence,” said Sen. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, who is carrying the labeling bill.Sands said the intent of her bill is not to prevent anyone from drinking raw milk, but to educate people who consume raw milk.


PDA approves 16 industrial hemp projects

Philadelphia Enquirer | Posted on April 3, 2017

The greater Lehigh Valley scored a handful of the first 16 industrial hemp research projects approved by the state Department of Agriculture. Lehigh University researchers and the Berks County-based Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council will partner on three different projects, and the Rodale Institute in Maxatawny Township will evaluate potential benefits of industrial hemp both as a cash crop and as a tool for weed control and soil health.GenCanna Global Inc.., a startup that previously participated in Kentucky's pilot program, will also grow hemp on a farm in Maxatawny Township in Berks County."I couldn't be more pleased that we are passing yet another auspicious point in the reintroduction of hemp," said Geoffrey Whaling, president of the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council. "The wide range of projects speaks to the diversity and potential of the crop."


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