AgClips
Recent AgClips
The Interior Department orders a review of sage grouse plans
High Country News | Posted onJune 14, 2017 in NewsInterior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced yesterday a major review of 2015 sage grouse conservation plans. The plans, spanning 70 million acres and 10 Western states, represent an unprecedented compromise between the federal government and states over how to manage public lands to protect the imperiled bird while also allowing for energy development and other uses. Zinke’s new order requires a review to determine whether the Obama-era plans gave states enough say, and whether they inappropriately block extractive industry.
U.S. Consumers are More Concerned About Animal Welfare Than Just a Few Years Ago
National Chicken Council | Posted onJune 14, 2017 in Agriculture, Food NewsFifty-eight percent of U.S.
Washington irrigator fined for harming orchard
Capital Press | Posted onJune 14, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA Central Washington irrigation district and an employee have been fined for misapplying an herbicide that blew into a pear orchard and caused an estimated $220,000 to $300,000 in damage, according to the state Department of Agriculture.The Cascade Irrigation District was fined $1,100, the maximum penalty for a first-time offense, while the employee, Kelton Montgomery, was fined $450 and will have his applicator’s license suspended for seven days in mid-July, according to orders issued June 1 by WSDA.The Ellensburg-based district irrigates some 12,500 acres in Kittitas County by drawing fro
Washington dairy sells out, another sells cows
Capital Press | Posted onJune 14, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA large Sunnyside dairy has sold and another apparently sold thousands of dairy cows indicative of tough times for Lower Yakima Valley dairies.DeRuyter Bros. Dairy planned to sell 3,100 head of Holstein in a May 31 auction, according to Toppenish Livestock Commission.
Lawsuits challenge water rights decisions in Klamath, Boardman
Capital Press | Posted onJune 14, 2017 in Agriculture NewsThe Oregon Water Resources Department is facing two new lawsuits related to water rights, one from Klamath-area irrigators and the other from environmental groups opposed to a new dairy in the eastern part of the state.
US Cybersecurity in Need of Rapid Repair, Senators Told
Roll Call | Posted onJune 14, 2017 in Federal NewsCybersecurity in the United States is in a severe state of disrepair, leaving the country vulnerable to attack from hacking groups backed by its opponents, two witnesses testified in a Senate subcommittee hearing Tuesday. The witnesses told the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy that they believe a massive cyberattack is imminent unless the U.S.
Oregon: Fight continues over Boardman mega-dairy
Capital Press | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsOpponents of a 30,000-cow dairy farm in Morrow County are pressuring state regulators to change their minds on a recently approved water pollution permit for the facility, or risk taking the matter to court. A coalition of groups has filed what’s known as a petition for reconsideration, asking the Oregon Department of Agriculture and Department of Environmental Quality to take a closer look at Lost Valley Farm and either tighten protections or reject the dairy outright. Lost Valley Farm received its confined animal feeding operation permit on March 31.
New federal marketing order would jeopardize Calif. quota program
Capital Press | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Agriculture NewsRabobank analysts say when California dairy producers see clearly on their milk check that the majority of them are losing money in the state’s quota program, the tide will turn on support.
U.S. meat exports slower but still solid in April
Capital Press | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsU.S. exports of beef and pork moderated in April from March but were still significantly higher year over year, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation. At 99,786 metric tons, valued at $550.4 million, beef exports were down 5.2 percent in volume and 6.4 percent in value from March. But they were up 13 percent in volume and 14 percent in value from April 2016.Pork exports, at 203,864 metric tons, were valued at $517.5 million and were down 10.9 percent in volume and 11.8 percent in value from record-breaking levels in March.
California Takes Action: agricultural solutions to climate change
National Sustainable Ag Coalition | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Agriculture NewsCalifornia is an example of a state where climate change action has helped fuel the state’s recovery from the Great Recession. In 2006, California passed the country’s most comprehensive climate change law, adopting ambitious greenhouse gas reduction measures. But instead of lagging behind, California surged ahead thanks in large part to our action on climate change mitigation. Since those laws went into affect, the state’s GDP growth has significantly outpaced the national average, and California now leads the country in job growth.