AgClips
Recent AgClips
Study details economic benefits of GM crops
Agri-Pulse | Posted onJune 2, 2016 in Agriculture NewsA study by U.K.-based PG Economics finds that farmers around the world who use genetically modified (GM) seeds reaped economic benefits averaging more than $100 per hectare (about 2.5 acres) in 2014 while at the same time improving the environmental sustainability of their operations. “Two-thirds of these benefits derive from higher yields and extra production, with farmers in developing countries seeing the highest gains,” said Graham Brookes, director of PG Economics and co-author of the report.
Groups worry FSA may run out of funds for loan guarantees
DYN | Posted onJune 2, 2016 in Federal NewsFarmers and ag lenders relying on Farm Service Agency direct loans or guarantees could see those loans delayed this summer as demand is quickly draining available funds. Several ag groups are sending a letter to members of the House and Senate appropriations committees highlighting the escalating demand for these loan programs and pointing out the USDA's Farm Service is expected run out of funds later this month for direct operating loans and guaranteed operating loans.
The Maschhoffs, Hormel targeted in undercover video
Watt Ag Net | Posted onJune 2, 2016 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsThe Animal Legal Defense Fund(ALDF) has released a video that supposedly depicts scenes of animal abuse and neglect at a Nebraska pig breeding farm owned and operated by The Maschoffs.In the video, ALDF also identifies Hormel Foods, a pork company with which The Maschhoffs is a supplier.
Firefighters, first responders welcome evacuees back to Fort McMurray
The Star | Posted onJune 2, 2016 in Rural Newsthe firefighters and first responders hailed as heroes for saving most of the city and safeguarding its people as they fled a monster wildfire in May parked their rigs and hung banners to welcome the oil-town’s gritty residents as they headed back home along Highway 63. As the first residents arrived, passing a huge Canadian flag hung between the ladders of two fire trucks parked on one bridge, the Fort Mac Evacuees saw for the first time the devastation. They saw destroyed areas covered with a white substance sprayed to keep toxic ash from blowing about.
Canada’s $6.9 Billion Wildfire Is the Size of Delaware—and Still Out of Control
Bloomberg | Posted onJune 2, 2016 in Rural NewsFort McMurray lies in a forested valley 270 miles northeast of Edmonton, beneath the upside-down Y formed by the confluence of the Athabasca and Clearwater rivers.
Internet Access - an incomplete promise
Daily Yonder | Posted onJune 2, 2016 in Rural NewsWith their homes and small businesses lacking access to robust fiber Internet service, many American small business operators try to get by with mobile wireless service not intended to support businesses. Larry Korte is an example, trying to run his consulting business in Churchville, Virginia, on 4G cellular service. But since the service is essentially metered Internet, where users pay overage charges for exceeding bandwidth limits, Korte finds the service expensive and a poor value. “I go to the [cell phone provider] and say, ‘Well, we need 300 gigabytes a month.
Bringing people together:Rural is 'different', not 'less'
Daily Yonder | Posted onJune 2, 2016 in Rural NewsA foundation executive says some philanthropies may use questions of "capacity" as an excuse not to fund projects in rural America. But in the long run, he says, urban-based philanthropies need rural constituencies to make a difference at the national level. But that’s apparently not what has happened in the recent past. A U.S. Department of Agriculture study released last year showed that rural areas, while they were home to about 19 percent of the U.S. population, received only 6 to 7 percent of private foundation grants awarded from 2005 to 2010.
How Close Are We to 100 Percent Renewable Energy?
Govtech | Posted onJune 2, 2016 in Energy NewsAmericans may be divided on partisan and ideological lines, but on at least one issue they agree: Support for clean renewable energy just keeps growing. In a March 2015 Gallup Poll, for example, 79 percent said they wanted the nation to use more solar energy, while 70 percent wanted to see more of the energy we use come from wind. As promising as this trend seems to be, however, it is a quantum leap to move from 100 percent renewable electricity to 100 percent renewable energy.
Organic Food Sales Hit Record $43.3 Billion In 2015
Growing Produce | Posted onJune 2, 2016 in Food NewsOrganic sales have grown 11% from 2014 to 2015’s total of $43.3 billion. Nearly 5% of all the food sold in the U.S. in 2015 was organic. The demand for fresh organic was most evident in the continued growth of “fresh juices and drinks,” which saw explosive growth of 33.5% in 2015, making it the fastest-growing of all the organic subcategories.
Genetically modified salmon approved for sale as food in Canada
CBC News | Posted onJune 2, 2016 in Food NewsHealth Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced AquaBounty's genetically modified salmon has been approved for sale as food in Canada. AquaBounty said it will be at least a year before the salmon will be available in stores. A final round of thorough and rigorous Canadian scientific reviews found that AquAdvantage Salmon is as safe and nutritious as conventional salmon. The same conclusion was reached by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2010, but it took until November 2015 for the agency to approve the fish for sale as food in that country.