AgClips
Recent AgClips
New $3.6B Project in Iowa Could Be One of Many ‘Mega’ Wind Orders
Green Tech Media | Posted onSeptember 1, 2016 in Energy NewsThe Iowa Utilities Board approved MidAmerican Energy’s $3.6 billion plan to build up to 2,000 megawatts of wind power -- a major step toward realizing the company’s goal of supplying Iowa customers with 100 percent renewable energy at no additional cost. The "Wind XI" project is the largest wind energy project approved in the U.S. to date, and may be just the first in a series of mega wind projects to advance in the coming months. With last week’s approval notice, MidAmerican said it is now finalizing plans to begin construction of the 1,000 wind turbines.
The Evolution of Cottage Food Regulation in Illinois
Farm Doc Daily | Posted onSeptember 1, 2016 in Food NewsCottage food laws are state-by-state regulations intended to facilitate the development of local food and economies by reducing the obstacles small food producers face in market entry.
Mapping the Farm Bill: Expanding the Traditional Farm Coalition
Farm Doc Daily | Posted onSeptember 1, 2016 in Federal NewsThe traditional corn-cotton-wheat coalition covered an extensive area of national production but concentrated within regions: corn in the Midwest, cotton in the South, and wheat split north to south in the Great Plains. USDA-NASS planted acres data indicates a significant change in commodity plantings over the course of farm bill history (1933 to 2014) as shown in Figure 1. Perhaps, the most notable trend is the increased acres planted to soybeans, going from negligible acres in 1933 to the second-largest crop in the country at over 83 million acres in 2014.
Native Americans Protest New Oil Pipeline In North Dakota
NPR | Posted onSeptember 1, 2016 in Energy NewsA fight over the route of a new pipeline is gaining momentum while it plays out in court. Hundreds of Native Americans from tribes across the United States are protesting in North Dakota. They're setting up camp at the site where the pipeline is slated to cross under the Missouri River. Reporter Amy Sisk of the public radio collaboration Inside Energy says the group is finding an eager ally in environmental groups.
Cloning beef cattle for meat quality sparks debate
Capital Press | Posted onSeptember 1, 2016 in Agriculture NewsTy Lawrence still talks about it as his “lightbulb” moment. He was in a Texas slaughterhouse in 2010 when two absolutely beautiful beef carcasses rolled by. Each was the pinnacle of USDA grading: “Prime” and “Yield Grade One.” Only 2 to 5 percent of U.S. beef is graded Prime, and Yield Grade One meant there was lots of it. By Lawrence’s estimate, only 1 in 3,300 beef carcasses will have those two attributes simultaneously.
The Effect of Medicaid Expansion on Marketplace Premiums
U.S. Health and Human Services | Posted onSeptember 1, 2016 in Federal NewsThis issue brief examines whether and how much of the Marketplace premium differences between expansion and non-expansion states are due to the direct impact of states’ decisions to expand Medicaid.
Iowa Utility Board denies permanent stay of Dakota Access pipeline construction 3-0
radio iowa | Posted onAugust 31, 2016 in Energy NewsThe Iowa Utilities Board has unanimously denied a request from landowners for a permanent stay to stop Dakota Access from building the Bakken oil pipeline until a court decides if the company can use eminent domain to get access to their land. The three-member board heard roughly 45 minutes of testimony from each side and asked several questions before going into a close meeting to deliberate.
USDA makes $11.7m egg purchase
Feedstuffs | Posted onAugust 31, 2016 in Federal NewsThe U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans Aug. 24 to purchase shell eggs and egg products for surplus removal.
Missourians to vote on conservation tax renewal
Missouri Farmer Today | Posted onAugust 31, 2016 in Agriculture NewsAmong the many issues on the ballot this November, Missourians will vote on whether to renew the state’s tenth-of-a-cent parks, soils and water sales tax. The sales tax was first approved in 1984 and reapproved by voters in 1988, 1996 and 2006. It is currently set up to have a renewal vote every 10 years. The tax splits its revenues 50-50, with half going to fund the state’s parks and half going to fund the Missouri Soil and Water Conservation Program, which provides cost-share money for conservation practices implemented by landowners.
New rules for Drones go into effect
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Posted onAugust 31, 2016 in Federal NewsThe FAA said Monday there will be 600,000 commercial drone aircraft operating in the U.S. within the year as the result of new safety rules that opened the skies to them. The rules governing the operation of small commercial drones were designed to protect safety without stifling innovation, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said at a Washington D.C.