AgClips
Recent AgClips
Giraffes now facing extinction
The Telegraph | Posted onDecember 8, 2016 in Rural NewsGiraffe's have been placed on the Red List of endangered species, after conservationists discovered there were fewer than 100,000 left in the wild.The animal was previously listed as ‘of least concern' but is now classed as ‘vulnerable to extinction’ after the global population plummeted by 40 per cent in the past 30 years.Giraffes are declining because of habitat loss, illegal hunting and civil unrest in the African countries where they live. Giraffe number shave dropped 30 % in last thrity years.
Labor shortage is real in Midwest feedlots
MIdwest Producer | Posted onDecember 8, 2016 in Agriculture NewsMore and more sectors in production agriculture are having a hard time finding help and the problem runs from coast to coast. Reports abound of crops left rotting in the fields because of a shortage of available labor to get out and harvest. The labor shortages aren’t just limited to crops, either. Feedlots across the country are having a hard time finding people to work with their livestock. The labor pains have gotten progressively worse in feedlots during the past decade.
Gene editing is just advanced plant breeding
Agri-Pulse | Posted onDecember 8, 2016 in Agriculture NewsGene editing is simply the latest development in the evolution of plant breeding, the head of the American Seed Trade Association said at ASTA's annual meeting today in Chicago, seeking to reassure consumers about the safety and efficacy of the new technique. “The farmer's constantly looking to grow more using less,” LaVigne said.
Vandals set hundreds of cows loose at Maine dairy farm and 1 dies
Central Maine | Posted onDecember 8, 2016 in Agriculture NewsA cow broke its neck and died last week after vandals let it and hundreds of other cows out of their pens at the Misty Meadow Farm and also vandalized the Wright Place Farm. Sometime between 2 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., about 500 milking cows were released from their pens. Roy said those cows were discovered by the next shift of workers arriving at the farm. All told there are 1,500 cows on the farm, Roy said. One of the cows that was released fell into a drainage hole and broke its neck.
House Ag releases SNAP report, eyes overhaul
New York TImes | Posted onDecember 8, 2016 in Food NewsThe GOP majority on the House Agriculture Committee released a two-year review of the program that stops short of making specific policy recommendations, but hints at areas where Republicans could focus: strengthening work requirements and perhaps issuing new ones, tightening some eligibility requirements or providing new incentives to encourage food stamp recipients to buy healthier foods. "There's nothing off the table when it comes to looking at solutions around these areas where we think improvements need to be made," the committee chairman, Rep.
Crspr gene editing yields tomatoes that flower and ripen weeks earlier
EurekAlert | Posted onDecember 7, 2016 in Agriculture NewsUsing a simple and powerful genetic method to tweak genes native to two popular varieties of tomato plants, a team at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has devised a rapid method to make them flower and produce ripe fruit more than 2 weeks faster than commercial breeders are currently able to do. This means more plantings per growing season and thus higher yield. In this case, it also means that the plant can be grown in latitudes more northerly than currently possible - an important attribute as the earth's climate warms.
Monsanto Says Next Breakthrough for Farmers Is a Friendly Fungus
Bloomberg | Posted onDecember 7, 2016 in Agriculture NewsMonsanto is introducing a new feature for its geneticall modified corn seeds that it says will not only boost yileds but cut down on fertilizer use and carbon dioxide emissions. They have developed a coating for seeds made from a friendly fungus that helps corn plants in their earliest growth stages. Corn crops treated with the new Monsanto-Novozymes microbial -- officially known as Acceleron B-300 SAT -- had better yields than those without the treatment, the companies said in a statement Monday.
Power line to link Canada, New England gets key US permit
Lincoln Journal Star | Posted onDecember 7, 2016 in Energy NewsA power line planned to run under Lake Champlain and link suppliers in Canada with consumers in southern New England has won a key federal permit, clearing its last big regulatory hurdle.Transmission Developers Inc. announced Monday its TDI-New England subsidiary had received a presidential permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for the 154-mile, $1.2 billion power line, dubbed the New England Clean Power Link.
Google Will Achieve 100 Percent Renewable Energy in 2017
Green Tech Media | Posted onDecember 7, 2016 in Energy NewsThe search engine and web services provider has long been a leader in corporate renewables, using its clout and purchasing power to open up new avenues for procuring clean energy. The future of federal renewables policy remains hazy since the election of Donald Trump, meaning corporate leadership could play an even greater role in the adoption of wind and solar power in the next few years. The announcement means that all of Google's data centers, offices and operations will be powered by clean energy.
Some rural Minnesota businesses embrace solar to control energy costs
Prairie Business Magazine | Posted onDecember 7, 2016 in Energy NewsJane Anderson could’ve bought a new pickup, but she had another bright idea for what to buy with that money — 72 solar panels that could make enough electricity to offset her home and business power needs.Anderson, owner of The Groom Room dog boarding and grooming business east of Hawley, said she’s always been curious about solar but assumed it was unaffordable.Glenz said customers can expect to pay about $75,000 to get a solar array like the one Anderson now has.