AgClips
Recent AgClips
Saskatchewan Agriculture Releases Preliminary Yield Estimates
DTN | Posted onAugust 23, 2016 in Agriculture NewsAccording to Saskatchewan Agriculture's Aug. 18 crop report which covers the recent week ending Aug. 15, provincial yields for most crops are expected to be well-above long-term averages. The notable exceptions are chickpea and lentil crops which fared poorly given the excessive moisture received over many areas of the province. As of Aug. 17, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada maps show a significant area of southwestern and west-central Saskatchewan receiving 150% to 200% of average precipitation in the April 1 through Aug.
Ag industry seeks three quick fixes to prop up farm economy
Politico | Posted onAugust 23, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe agriculture industry isn’t waiting for the next farm bill to do something about the sinking farm economy. Its lobbyists have been laboring for months to try and score a series of quick fixes from the Agriculture Department and Congress, and leaning on farm-state lawmakers to advocate for their cause. The effort is working. More than 60 lawmakers from both chambers have asked USDA to provide emergency assistance to dairy producers, others are requesting USDA and the U.S.
To open first Chicago restaurant, Sweetgreen had to first find farms
Chicago Tribune | Posted onAugust 23, 2016 in Food NewsSweetgreen has 11 locations in Washington, D.C, where it got its start, 33 other stores along the East Coast and five in California. For its first store in the Midwest the salad chain, which is committed to locally grown foods and sustainable farming, had to develop a new farm supply and distribution system from scratch. It's a rare path in the restaurant industry and virtually unheard of in fast food, but the method has become status quo for Sweetgreen. Founded in 2007 by three Georgetown University students, Sweetgreen bases its menu on seasonal produce that varies depending on location.
Southwestern Idaho farmers raise pay to keep workers
Capital Press | Posted onAugust 23, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe southwestern Idaho labor market has tightened to the point agricultural producers are paying significantly more to find and keep farm workers. “It’s gotten really bad; it’s a tough labor market,” said Meridian farmer Richard Durant. “There just aren’t very many workers out there.” Durant has paid common farm laborers such as pipe movers $10 to $11 an hour in the past but has to pay them $12 to $14 an hour this year. He’s not alone.
WDFW calls off hunt after shooting two wolves
Capital Press | Posted onAugust 23, 2016 in Rural NewsThe Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife today ended its hunt for wolves in the Profanity Peak pack, 13 days after shooting two females. WDFW issued a statement Thursday afternoon, saying it will resume lethally removing the pack in Ferry County if there is another confirmed attack on livestock. WDFW Jim Unsworth authorized the partial removal of the pack after the department confirmed its members had killed at least four calves and a cow in the past month. State wildlife officials shot and killed the two wolves, including the pack’s breeding female, from a helicopter Aug. 5.
Groups file lawsuits to stop plan to spay wild horses
Capital Press | Posted onAugust 23, 2016 in Rural NewsMore advocacy groups have filed lawsuits seeking injunctions to stop researchers from surgically sterilizing more than 200 wild mares in Central Oregon. The Bulletin reports the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign and The Cloud Foundation jointly filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Bureau of Land Management arguing that the agency had violated the groups’ First Amendment rights by rejecting their request to record the procedures. Bureau officials say they are still reviewing the latest lawsuits. The U.S.
How To Create Sustainable Seafood
NPR | Posted onAugust 22, 2016 in Food NewsWell, farming fish is already here to stay. We're about equal right now in terms of how much farmed fish we eat versus how much wild fish we eat. I think it's the greatest opportunity ahead of us right now. You know, we're in a situation where we're constantly sort of under the anxiety of whether or not we live in a world managed for abundance or one managed for scarcity. And as we run out of fresh water, as we, you know, are being run out of arable land as populations rise, where are we going to get food? Well, hey, how about 70 percent of the planet that we don't currently use much of?
Maine to reconsider hiding oil train data
Pine Tree Watch Dog | Posted onAugust 22, 2016 in Energy NewsThe state committee charged with promoting transparency in government is asking lawmakers to overhaul a 2015 law that made secret information about the transportation of crude oil and other hazardous materials by railroad through Maine. The legislature’s Right to Know Advisory Committee voted to send a letter to the Judiciary Committee recommending that it reconsider the controversial law in order to ensure that the government is not keeping railroad data secret unnecessarily.
2017 Forecasted to Bring some Relief from Record Heat
Hoosier Ag Today | Posted onAugust 22, 2016 in Agriculture NewsNASA predicts 2016 will be the warmest year on record for Earth, but forecasters offer a prediction of relief for 2017. Weather forecasters say a new annual record is unlikely in 2017 since the effect of El Niño is fading. That does not mean 2017 will be much cooler, however. Forecasters say the long-term trend is towards warming, but there is natural variability, bringing ups and downs to overall temperatures each year. La Niña, the cool counterpart to El Niño, is expected to be weak and develop late this fall or early winter.
Inspector General says EPA has not met requirements for RFS
Agri-Pulse | Posted onAugust 22, 2016 in Energy NewsThe Environmental Protection Agency has been taken to the woodshed by its Office of Inspector General, which said the agency has failed to provide legally required reports to Congress. In a report posted on the EPA's website on Thursday, OIG said EPA has not prepared reports on the environmental impact of the Renewable Fuel Standard, as required by the Energy Information and Security Act of 2007.