AgClips
Recent AgClips
Grandin to poultry industry: 'Avoid BS welfare standards'
Watt Ag Net | Posted onOctober 18, 2016 in Agriculture NewsDr. Temple Grandin said that when it comes to setting welfare guidelines on things like outdoor access, poultry producers should make sure they are set in a way that consumers will recognize and accept.Whether the guideline addresses what constitutes outdoor access or cage free, the discussion can’t just focus on what is the most efficient arrangement. The system needs to look like it delivers what it promises.
Two-thirds of U.S. flock must be cage free to meet demand
Watt Ag Net | Posted onOctober 18, 2016 in Food NewsNearly two-thirds of the U.S. layer flock will need to be housed in cage-free system by 2025 to meet anticipated demand, according to figures published by United Egg Producers. On October 7, the egg farmer cooperative published an updated report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Analytics Division estimating 213.8 million cage-free hens, about 74 percent of the 276 million layers in the U.S., will need to be cage free by 2026. Currently, there are 16.6 million non-organic, cage-free layers in the U.S.
A Battle Over Bringing Local Renewables To Rural Electric Co-Ops
Flatland | Posted onOctober 18, 2016 in Energy NewsIn the 1930s, rural electric cooperatives brought electricity to the country’s most far-flung communities, transforming rural economies. In Western Colorado, one of these co-ops is again trying to spur economic development, partly by generating more of their electricity locally from renewable resources, like water in irrigation ditches and the sun. Local leaders say that’ll be good for the economy and the environment. The electricity will be clean and affordable, and the revenue from generating it will stay in their communities. But this prospect has started a high-stakes legal battle.
Vilsack: Embrace science to address global food security
Agri-Pulse | Posted onOctober 18, 2016 in Federal NewsSurrounded by international leaders focused on global food security, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that one of the biggest concerns he has about addressing future food challenges is “our ability to embrace science.” Vilsack said “we are now moving into a new era,” with tools like gene editing, and he expressed concerns that - without public understanding and support - future leaders won't be able to use all of the available new technology needed to boost food production by 50 to 60 percent by mid-century, in order to feed a growing and hungry world population.
Florida faces worst orange harvest crisis in a century
The Guardian | Posted onOctober 18, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe state’s orange trees, which are mostly used to produce juice, have been devastated by disease and hurricanes, causing harvest totals to fall for five successive seasons.
NH dairy farm demise widely misunderstood
Union Leader | Posted onOctober 18, 2016 in Agriculture NewsAs lawmakers prepare to rush a $3.6 million bailout of the state's dairy industry through the Legislature, they have frequently been told that 19 of the state's 120 dairy farms have "gone out of business" in the past year.
Opioid addiction scars Wisconsin's rural landscape
Portage Daily Register | Posted onOctober 18, 2016 in Rural NewsThe United States Department of Agriculture convened this discussion, and others like it across the state and across rural America, because the opioid epidemic is not just a big-city issue. And the only way that the scourge can be addressed, Baldwin said, is through cooperation among leaders at the local, state and federal level.“We have not done our job, until we create a better and more effective partnership with regard to funding the services that we need,” Baldwin said. The U.S. Congress has done its part — but not completely, according to Baldwin.
Damage Assessments, Recovery Begin In Wake Of Matthew
Growing Produce | Posted onOctober 18, 2016 in Agriculture NewsApproximately 1,100 acres of crops were impacted by the damaging winds and rainfall in the county, Wells reports. “We had more than 10 inches of rain in the Hastings area with very strong winds,” she says. On average, St. Johns County farmers have reported 30% to 60% losses of their planted acreage, while several have experienced a 100% or total loss for the crops they had in the ground before the storm, Wells states.
Obama relaxes trade restrictions with Cuba
Politico | Posted onOctober 17, 2016 in Federal NewsThe administration further relaxed economic restrictions on Cuba Friday, allowing more collaboration on medical research, the approval of Cuban drugs for import and the lifting of monetary limits on cigars and rum imports. The moves make the U.S. openings to Cuba "irreversible," President Barack Obama said in a statement. The latest changes build on the president's announcement in December 2014 to chart a new course for the U.S.-Cuba relationship, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a statement.
Proposed GIPSA rules would change court standard for suing packers
DTN | Posted onOctober 17, 2016 in Federal NewsThe U.S. Department of Agriculture has sent livestock and poultry marketing rules, which USDA is calling the "Farmer Fair Practices Rules," back to the White House for review. The rules drew both praise and scorn. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sent letters to leaders of various meat and livestock industry groups on Thursday detailing why the rules were advanced.