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Many Northeast, Midwest States Face Shrinking Workforce
Pew Charitable Trust | Posted onJune 7, 2016 in Rural NewsIn many parts of the Northeast and Midwest, population growth is slowing at an unprecedented rate as people are getting older, women are having fewer children, and more people are moving out than in — and that signals big economic trouble ahead. The population of prime working-age adults, ages 25 to 54, will decline in 16 states, most of which are in the Northeast and Midwest, from 2010 to 2040, according to a Stateline analysis of projections released by the University of Virginia’s Demographics Research Group in the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.
As residential solar surges, the net-metering debate heats up
Missoula Independent | Posted onJune 7, 2016 in Energy NewsResidential solar in the U.S. grew 66 percent in 2015 over 2014, the largest annual growth rate to date, according to a recent report by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association, or SEIA. In 2015, residential solar installations amounted to 2,099 megawatts, which, when converted, equals more that 1,600 megawatts. By comparison, Montana's coal-fired Colstrip plant, the second-largest power plant west of the Mississippi River, has a peak output of 2,100 megawatts.
Glyphosate unlikely to pose cancer risk through diet, WHO says
Agri-Pulse | Posted onJune 7, 2016 in Agriculture News“Glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through the diet,” a World Health Organization/Food and Agriculture Organization panel has concluded.
The Joint WHO/FAO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) came to the same conclusion about malathion and diazinon, two other pesticides evaluated along with glyphosate by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in March 2015.
Florida city bans commercially bred animals from pet stores
Sun Sentinel | Posted onJune 6, 2016 in Agriculture NewsHollywood, Florida commissioners voted 6-1 in favor of the ban before a packed house, with Commissioner Patty Asseff casting the lone dissenting vote. Under the ban, pet shops will be forced to sell dogs and cats from animal shelters and rescue groups. The controversial proposal drew more than 55 speakers, including Judy Norford, the owner of Puppy Palace, the only store in Hollywood that sells commercially bred animals. "My puppies are my life," Norford said. "I eat, sleep, drink puppies.
Farm Bureau files suit over corporate farming law
Grand Forks Herald | Posted onJune 4, 2016 in Agriculture NewsA lawsuit challenging the state's corporate farming law, which was described by the North Dakota Farm Bureau as unconstitutional as well as discriminatory, was filed in federal court. The lawsuit comes less than two weeks before voters weigh in on a ballot measure to determine whether or not to uphold exceptions to corporate farming law passed by lawmakers last session. Senate Bill 2351 passed last session following a lengthy debate. It provided exemptions to allow for corporate dairy and swine operations numbering at least 50 cows or 500 swine on a farm of up to 640 acres.
Farm Confessional: I Hope My Family’s Farm Doesn’t Become a Golf Course—But I Won’t Take it On
Modern Farmer | Posted onJune 4, 2016 in Agriculture NewsWhen I asked him why he didn’t want to take over his family’s farm, he rubbed his thumb against his index and middle fingers. Money. I couldn’t blame him. As a senior in high school, I applied to every need-based scholarship I could to go to college, receiving many. One of the organizations that awarded me a scholarship, however, thought I doctored our tax returns. They called me on the phone, unwilling to believe a family could survive on such little money. “We want people who are needy, not greedy,” they said.
Demand Plummets For California Pollution Credits
KPBS | Posted onJune 4, 2016 in Energy NewsCalifornia's ambitious efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are taking a hit as demand has plummeted for pollution credits that are supposed to fund the initiative. Only about a tenth of the available pollution credits were sold in an auction last week, according to results released Wednesday by the California Air Resources Board. Gov. Jerry Brown's administration says revenue from the program was $600 million short of the $2.4 billion anticipated in the current fiscal year.
CDFA orders long-term change on milk pricing
Ag Alert | Posted onJune 4, 2016 in Agriculture NewsMilk prices paid to California dairy farmers, specifically the portions related to dry whey, will continue to be calculated based on a state milk pricing formula that's been in use since last August. The California Department of Food and Agriculture ordered a permanent change to the dry-whey scale used to determine the whey-factor value in the state pricing formula for Class 4b milk, which relates to milk used to manufacture cheese and its byproduct whey. The decision comes after CDFA held a hearing in April to consider changes to the dry-whey scale.
Craft malting could spark new interest in barley
Daily Democrat | Posted onJune 4, 2016 in Agriculture NewsWith the rising popularity of craft beers and the explosion of microbreweries in California, a San Francisco brewer says he plans to open the state’s first craft malting facility — a move that could revive grower interest in barley, a crop that has seen downward trends in production for years. Compared to fruits, vegetables and nuts, barley is considered a minor crop in California, with most of it grown for animal feed. When grown as malting barley for brewing beer, the grain fetches a much higher price.
Local-food push fuels egg production boom in Nevada
Capital Press | Posted onJune 4, 2016 in Agriculture NewsAs California egg producers continue to adapt to new cage size rules, their industry in neighboring Nevada is experiencing a boom. Poultry and egg production cash receipts in the Silver State have risen 200 percent since 2010 — from $5.32 million that year to $15.96 million in 2014, according to USDA statistics. The jump comes as the state’s overall agriculture production value rose by 50 percent during the same period, from $636 million to $952 million, the Nevada Department of Agriculture reported. Driving the growth were cow-calf, milk and hay production, according to the agency.