AgClips
Recent AgClips
FDA Releases Final Environmental Assessment for Genetically Engineered Mosquito
FDA | Posted onAugust 8, 2016 in Federal Newshe FDA has completed the environmental review for a proposed field trial to determine whether the release of Oxitec Ltd.’s genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes (OX513A) will suppress the local Aedes aegypti mosquito population in the release area at Key Haven, Florida. After considering thousands of public comments, the FDA has published a final environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact that agrees with the EA’s conclusion that the proposed field trial will not have significant impacts on the environment.
Wisconsin DNR reviews farm regulations
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Posted onAugust 8, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe Department of Natural Resources took the first steps in a state rule-making process aimed at safeguarding manure-spreading practices in areas prone to water contamination. But environmental groups pushed for a faster response by the agency and complained the measure was weakened from an initial draft under pressure from farm groups. DNR officials initially took a stronger measure to Gov. Scott Walker for approval. But after objections by farm groups, the agency re-worked the regulations and removed some specific requirements for the state’s largest farms.
Turning Iowa farmland into butterfly, bee habitat
Des Moines Register | Posted onAugust 8, 2016 in Rural NewsOver the past four years, Iowa farmers have enrolled 127,005 acres in a federal conservation reserve program designed to sustain butterflies, bees, wasps, birds and bats — with all but 15,000 acres being added in the past year, according to the Iowa Farm Service Agency. In fact, Iowa has about 40 percent of the nation's total acres of pollinator habitat, the agency said. The federal contracts require the land to be set aside for habitat for 10 or 15 years, with penalties for ending them sooner. Part of Iowa's adoption comes from a big state and national habitat push.
State report says immigrants boost Michigan economy
Detroit Free Press | Posted onAugust 8, 2016 in Rural NewsA report released by the state says immigration boosts Michigan's economy, helping the state emerge from a lengthy recession, and suggests many of the estimated 126,000 undocumented immigrants in Michigan should be made legal.The report "Contributions of New Americans in Michigan" was released by the Michigan Office for New Americans, which Republican Gov. Rick Snyder created in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
A new brand of doctor targets the unhealthy in rural Tennessee
The Tennessean | Posted onAugust 8, 2016 in Rural NewsBrent Staton, a primary care physician in Cookeville, heads an organization called Cumberland Center for Healthcare Innovation, a network of affiliated, independent doctors in small towns and rural counties around the state. But what it is, is a band of primary care doctors in about 50 counties across Tennessee who want to collaborate as a way to sustain their independence in changing the health care system — and as a path to making their patients, and communities, healthier.
U.S. Protein Producers Seeing Record Growth in Demand, But Prices Predicted to Fall, Rabobank Says
Washington Report | Posted onAugust 8, 2016 in Agriculture NewsU.S. protein producers are currently seeing record growth in demand; however, prices over the next couple years are predicted to fall. These findings are part of “Chickens, Cows, and Pigs… Oh My! Implications of Record U.S. Protein Expansion,” a new report from the Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory group, that explores the impact of growth on the future of the market. Production of protein in the United States is projected to grow at a rate of 2.5-percent annually.
British farmers prepare for end to direct subsidies after Brexit
Financial Times | Posted onAugust 8, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe future of farming after Britian leaves the EU is likely to see an end to direct subsidies to farmers, many of whom are calling instead for measures to support a profitable market. Farmers receive 2.1 Bn pounds in direct subsidies and 600 M pounds in rural development payments through the Eu's Common Agricultural Policy.
Rural Electrical Cooperatives Turn to the Internet
New York Times | Posted onAugust 8, 2016 in Rural News"This is the New Deal" saud Sheila Allgood, a manager of Bolt, the broadband subsidiary of the Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooeprative. "Now we are doing what cable and telecom companies don't want to do, just like we did for electricity when the big private power companies didn't want to come here."
Louisiana officials go to court blaming Big Oil for coastal ruin
AP | Posted onAugust 8, 2016 in Energy NewsThe oil industry has left a big footprint along the Gulf Coast, where a Delaware-sized stretch of Louisiana has disappeared. But few politicians would blame Big Oil for ecosystem abuse in a state where the industry employs up to 300,000 people and injects $73 billion into the economy. Until now. Following the lead of Gov. John Bel Edwards, Louisiana political orthodoxy is being turned upside-down as prominent leaders of both parties join lawsuits seeking billions of dollars for environmental improvement projects.
Bankrupt Peabody wants to provide $11.9 million in executive bonuses
St Louis Business Journal | Posted onAugust 8, 2016 in Energy NewsSt. Louis-based coal miner Peabody Energy Corp. which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy asked a U.S. judge for permission to pay nearly $12 million in bonuses to the company's top six executives if it meets performance targets and emerges from bankruptcy. In a filing, Peabody said the incentives would help the company maximize its value for the benefit of all stakeholders. If the company falls short of the targets, executives will receive only their base salaries, which range from $444,000 to $1 million, Reuters reports.