AgClips
Recent AgClips
EPA to allow use of dicamba next year, but with safeguards
St Louis Post Dispatch | Posted onSeptember 21, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe Environmental Protection Agency is aiming to allow farmers to spray the controversial weedkiller dicamba next year, but with additional rules for its use, an official with the agency said.
After Long Fight, Some Farmers Get Relief From High Property Taxes
Pew Charitable Trust | Posted onSeptember 21, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsAgricultural land is assessed differently than homes and business in all 50 states, based on a formula that values the land based on crop yields, soil conditions, market prices and other factors. The approach is designed to preserve agricultural land by curbing property taxes, even as developers gobble up farmland and land values skyrocket. But over time, changing interest rates and swings in grain prices have led to assessments that don’t match the economic conditions many farmers face.
Here’s how Cassidy-Graham bill would devastate rural America
Think Progress | Posted onSeptember 21, 2017 in Federal, Rural NewsGraham-Cassidy will increase the number of uninsured people. Those people will continue to rely on hospitals, which will, in turn, rely on DSH funds to cover the costs of the medical care.
Michigan Governor approves unlimited super PAC cash
Detroit News | Posted onSeptember 21, 2017 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsMichigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Wednesday signed legislation letting political candidates raise unlimited money for super political action committees just a day after the Legislature approved the controversial plan. With Snyder’s blessing, political candidates can now raise unlimited money for super PACs that could then pour unlimited amounts of money back into committees that a candidate creates or that support the candidate.Snyder, a Republican, and other GOP supporters say the new law squares Michigan with a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court’s decision.
Iowa uses satellites to uncover 5,000 previously undetected animal confinements
Des Moines Register | Posted onSeptember 21, 2017 in Agriculture NewsIowa has about 5,000 more pig confinements and cattle lots across the state than originally believed, a report to the federal government last month shows. That's nearly 50 percent more animal feeding operations than the state initially inventoried."It's clearly too easy for confinements to slip under the radar," said Jess Mazour, an organizer at Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement.
241 5 Petition to tighten rules on livestock facilities in Iowa fails
Des Moines Register | Posted onSeptember 21, 2017 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe Iowa Environmental Protection Commission denied a petition that would have made it tougher for animal feeding operations to be built in Iowa. Petition supporters sought to strengthen the state's master matrix — a scoring system designed to give local residents input on proposed animal feeding operations — saying the changes would better protect people living near livestock facilities from odor and water pollution.But opponents said the petition would make it so difficult to get a passing score, it would result in a statewide moratorium on livestock facilities.
New York governor signs law requiring B5 for bioheating in downstate counties
Biofuels Digest | Posted onSeptember 21, 2017 in Energy, SARL Members and Alumni NewsIn New York state, New Yorkers in downstate counties will soon benefit from cleaner air due to the increased use of Bioheat fuel in heating oil. Legislation signed Sept. 13 by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo requires Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties to follow New York City’s lead by blending at least 5 percent biodiesel (B5) into all home heating oil sold by July 1, 2018.
NOAA Issues La Nina Watch
DTN | Posted onSeptember 21, 2017 in Agriculture, Rural NewsThe U.S. Climate Prediction Center (CPC), a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), says that the Pacific Ocean equator temperatures have at least a 50% chance of cooling to La Nina values by December. Accordingly, the CPC issued a La Nina watch Sept. 14. In issuing the watch, CPC details noted an emphasis on subsurface cooling in the equator region waters of the Pacific.
Senate panel hears of manipulation of food stamp error rates, seeks improvements
USA Today | Posted onSeptember 21, 2017 in Federal NewsBureaucrats in 42 states, often aided by outside consultants, have weakened the integrity of efforts to find errors in the way food stamp recipients are found eligible, and in whether those eligible are receiving the right level of benefits, a Senate panel heard. So far, two states — Virginia and Wisconsin — have paid a combined $14.1 million to settle allegations they violated the False Claims Act in administering their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs, and several others are under investigation, according to a U.S.
How Agriculture Came to Be a Political Weapon—And What That Means for Farmers
Smithsonian | Posted onSeptember 21, 2017 in Agriculture NewsIn his new book, Ted Genoways follows a family farm and the ways they’re impacted by geopolitics. Trade wars with China. Arguments over a border wall with Mexico. Strained relations with South Korea. They all might sound like issues for politicians and the CEOs of multinational corporations, but among the Americans who have a vested interest in foreign affairs are a more unlikely group: family farmers in rural Nebraska. Rick and Heidi Hammond and their daughter, Meghan, are one such Nebraskan family.