AgClips
Recent AgClips
Disaster Assistance: From "not a penny" to new and improved
National Sustainable Ag Coalition | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsLast week, the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) released a new report indicating that changes to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) made in the 2014 Farm Bill have been well-received by farmers and have led to a doubling of NAP applications – from 66,000 in 2014 to 138,000 in 2015.
The organic milk market is overflowing
Hoard's Dairyman | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Food NewsJust two years ago, U.S. farmers couldn’t keep up with consumer demand for organic milk. Now, production has outpaced the need. An organic milk surplus of 50 million gallons is anticipated for 2017, according to the most recent USDA Organic Dairy Market News report. This means some organic milk will be sold on the conventional market at conventional prices.The demand for organic dairy is still there.
New dairy effort undeniably interesting
Capital Press | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Agriculture, Food NewsCalled Undeniably Dairy, the website and campaign combine facts and features about all things dairy.Up to this point, the industry’s efforts to set the record straight have met with varying degrees of success.A new effort aims at improving that record.It’s called Undeniably Dairy and combines some new features and others that have been around for awhile that are upbeat and non-defensive. Some are informative, and others are just for fun.
OH:Local activists’ ag claims lack any merit
Toledo Blade | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Agriculture NewsAn Ohio Department of Agriculture spokesman has disputed an activist group’s claim that the state agency has for 15 years lacked legal authority to issue or enforce permits for more than 200 livestock facilities large enough to be classified as concentrated animal feeding operations. “ODA’s priority has and will continue to be to operate a thorough and reasonable permitting program that protects Ohio’s natural resources while allowing agriculture to remain productive,” spokesman Brett B.
Organic milk not good for the land, says ad watchdog
BBC.com | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in NewsBuy a pack of organic milk and generally you feel you have done the world and the environment a service - albeit a small, litre-sized one. After all, you think, a happy cow in a grassy field is probably a good thing, environmentally speaking.Which is probably why Arla decided to say its organic milk was "good for the land" and "a more sustainable future".But the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the claim was "misleading" and has banned the ad.Arla placed its ad in a local paper in November last year and someone, known simply as "the complainant", reported it to the ASA.
Communities, not telcos, should define success of municipal broadband networks
Daily Yonder | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Rural NewsFor years, incumbents, state legislative allies, and public broadband detractors relied on CTIC and others analysis reports to influence anti-municipal laws, lawsuits, and adverse telecom policies. Communities intend to change the narrative by conveying how they, rather than incumbents, define broadband success. Generating revenue sufficient to cover on-going operating costs and retiring debt incurred to build the original network is considered financial success. Sebewaing Light and Water (SLW) built a gigabit network in 2014.
U.S. Agricultural Exports to China Increased Rapidly Making China the Number One Market - See more at: http://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/theme-articles/us-commodity-markets-respond-to-changes-in-chinas-ag-policies/us-agricultural-exports-to-
Choices magazine | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsSince 2012, China has become the predominant market for U.S. agriculture exports, accounting for 16% of U.S. agriculture export value in 2016. The value of exports to China increased 25.6% per year from 2002 to 2013 and added $23.4 billion to the U.S. agricultural export market over this time period. Exports to China in 2014 and 2015 declined slightly but began to rebound in 2016. In 2016, the four largest export markets for U.S. agricultural commodities and products—China, Canada, Mexico, and Japan—accounted for 52% of U.S. agriculture export sales (USDA, 2017a). Strong growth in U.S.
Go Ahead. Eat Pink Slime.
The New York Times | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Food NewsI’ll leave it to the jury to determine whether or not the ABC story was fake news. But the truth about pink slime is that, despite its unappetizing name, it’s entirely safe to eat. More than that, it is an affordable source of lean meat for low-income Americans, and stigmatizing it hurts people who rely on it for protein.What seemed to scare consumers the most about pink slime — which ABC claimed was used in 70 percent of ground beef sold in American supermarkets — was that the lean beef trimmings were treated with ammonia. That sounds scary, but is actually perfectly safe.
Lawsuit says dairy ads portray bovine growth hormone rbST as a six-eyed monster
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Agriculture, Food NewsArla Foods, a Europe-based cheesemaker with a plant in the Fox Valley, has been sued over a $30 million advertising campaign that — the plaintiff says — casts bovine growth hormone rbST in an unfavorable light. In a lawsuit filed recently in U.S. District Court in Green Bay, Eli Lilly Elanco US of Indianapolis alleges that Arla’s campaign perpetuates false claims that rbST — which promotes milk production in cows — is dangerous.Elanco markets rbST — recombinant bovine somatotropin — under the brand name Posilac.
Drinking non-cow milk linked to shorter kids, study suggests
CNN | Posted onJune 12, 2017 in Food NewsChildren who drink dairy alternatives like soy, almond or rice milks are slightly shorter than their peers who drink cow's milk, according to a new study.The study, published Wednesday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that each daily cup of non-cow's milk consumed was associated with 0.4 centimeters (0.15 inches) lower height than average for a child's age."We found that children who are consuming non-cow's milk like rice, almond and soy milk tended to be a little bit shorter than children who consumed cow's milk," said Dr.