AgClips
Recent AgClips
As FirstEnergy announces closures, ‘bailout’ request keeps growing
Midwest Energy News | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in Energy NewsDespite announcing the closure of four units at an Ohio coal plant it initially sought to protect, the amount of money FirstEnergy could recover from customers in new charges has now ballooned to more than $8 billion. FirstEnergy still wants a non-bypassable charge that critics have said could cost consumers almost $4 billion. In the same filing, it says that a new rider suggested by staff at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio would be a good idea, but that the proposed rate of $131 million per year for three years would be inadequate.
OECD outlook signals 'era of high prices is likely over'
Agri-Pulse | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe decline in prices for food and feed crops, livestock and fish products in 2015 signals that “an era of high prices is quite likely over for all sub-sectors,” economists at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) say. Developed jointly with analysts at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, the Paris-based OECD projected in its Agricultural Outlook 2016-2025 that most agricultural prices wo
New Rabobank Study Says Farmers Need to Manage Costs Aggressively to Up Their Odds of Economic Survival
Oklahoma Farm Report | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in NewsYears of negative margins have U.S. row crop farmers facing a bleak outlook, and Rabobank believes farmers must lower operation costs in order to survive. A new report—Farming the Efficient Frontier: Crop Efficiency, Not Volume, Will Drive Future Financial Performance—by the Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory group, which reviews the current costs of inputs and land and the projected supply and demand of commodities, explores the outlook for U.S.
Looming bubble in the ag tech industry?
Brownfield | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe demands of agriculture and the price tag for new technology have some developers questioning if there is a looming bubble in the ag tech industry. Aaron Magenheim, CEO of AgTech Insight of Salinas, California says there is a disconnect between developers and farmers. Magenheim says their clients in the Midwest, far removed from Silicon Valley, need to be involved in the creation process so developers can better understand what real, on the ground needs of farmers are.
3 ways animal rights activists have been targeting you this summer
Beef | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in Agriculture NewsPETA members dress as nuns at RNC and propose a sin tax on meat. “At the convention, campaigners from PETA donned nun’s attire and stilts. Armed with placards emblazoned with polemical slogans like ‘Meat is a Bad Habit. Tax It!’ and ‘Slap a Sin Tax on Meat!’ the nuns quickly drew attention to themselves. PETA attacks New Mexico FFA members. The campaign casts a shadow on Future Farmers of America, the popular agriculture club for high school students.
Proposed organic rule fuels disease concerns
Capital Press | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in Federal NewsAnimal agriculture groups are voicing many concerns over USDA’s proposed rule to expand the National Organic Program to include animal-handling practices. Not only is the rule outside the statutory scope of the NOP, they say, but it is not based on science, has doubtful benefit and comes with a high cost to producers. One key concern to poultry and pork producers is the risk to animal and public health.
A Broad(band) Reach: Bringing the Internet to Rural America
State Tech Magazine | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in Rural NewsFrom police protection to trash pickup, cities and counties provide a variety of services to its residents. Adding broadband to that mix, especially on a citywide scale, is a relatively new conceptthat nonetheless can provide tangible benefits to the municipalities that offer it. For the most part, large cities don’t have a major problem with broadband installation. The populations are so dense that many private broadband providers will take on the expense of building and maintaining networks, confident that customers will follow.
More Proof Cover Crops Boost Yields
Hoosier Ag Today | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in Agriculture NewsInsight from 2,020 farmers from across the country reflected enthusiasm for cover crops and—for the fourth year in a row—found a yield boost in corn and soybeans following cover crops. Multi-year data from the survey shows the yield boost increases as cover crops are planted year after year, a revelation that points to an appealing long-term benefit of the conservation practice.
North American Farmers Increasing Rye Plantings on Higher Whiskey Sales
Hoosier Ag Today | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in Agriculture NewsFarmers in North America are turning back to a neglected crop, sowing fields with the largest rye crop in years as consumers satisfy a growing thirst for whiskey. Rye, planted in autumn and harvested in mid-summer, fell in popularity during the past decade as other crops produced bigger profits. However, with whiskey demand high and new varieties of rye on the market, farmers have regained interest.
Ecology may reconsider cost of Washington dairy rules
Capital Press | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in Agriculture NewsDairy farmers and environmentalists criticized new manure-control rules the state Department of Ecology plans to finalize early next year, accusing state regulators of being too meddlesome or too lax. At the first of two public hearings on the proposal, farmers said dairies already are heavily regulated and that Ecology’s new layer of mandates would be unnecessary, expensive and even dispiriting. Ecology estimates that complying with the permit will cost a dairy between $11,000 and $25,000 over five years.