The last working farm in Bloomington could become the site of the 2023 World’s Fair.The Minnesota World’s Fair Bid Committee announced Wednesday that if the state wins Expo 2023, it will be held on a 59-acre property nestled between the Mall of America and the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge that has been owned by the same family since 1932. [node:read-more:link]
Tyson Foods is backing away from its plans to build a new poultry complex in Tonganoxie, Kansas, and instead is looking at other locations to build the $320 million facility. Tyson Foods on September 5 revealed plans to build the poultry complex in Tonganoxie, stating that the complex would include a poultry plant with a capacity to process 1.25 million birds per week, a feed mill and a hatchery. [node:read-more:link]
On a recent summer morning in Mendota, a small farming community in California’s Central Valley, the sun glared down from a cloudless sky. The temperature was heading toward 101 degrees, and it had hit 106 a few days before—not unlike the blistering heat that blanketed much of the West Coast over Labor Day weekend. While that heat wave proved uncomfortable for the Golden State, such extreme temperatures can actually be dangerous for the people who work outside. That’s especially true in the Central Valley, where a major portion of the nation’s fruits and vegetables are grown. [node:read-more:link]
Survey Results at a Glance: • The overall index climbed for month, but remained below growth neutral. Approximately 57.6 percent of bankers reported rought conditions were having a negative impact on ag-riculture production in their area. • Average yearly cash rents declined by 4.3 percent over the past year to $241 per acre. • On average bankers expect farmland prices to decline by another 3.5 percent over the next year. In August 2016, bank CEOs projected a 6.9 percent decline for next year. [node:read-more:link]
A group of powerful California farmers pulled their support Tuesday from a pair of massive, $16 billion tunnels that would have re-engineered the state's water system in a decisive move that dealt a major blow to the project pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown. [node:read-more:link]
The owner of two Michigan dairy farms pleaded guilty Tuesday to harboring workers who were in the U.S. illegally and agreed to pay nearly $1.4 million to the government. Denis Burke, an Irish immigrant, admits he employed more than 100 people who were in the U.S. without legal permission. [node:read-more:link]
The Environmental Protection Agency is aiming to allow farmers to spray the controversial weedkiller dicamba next year, but with additional rules for its use, an official with the agency said. [node:read-more:link]
Iowa has about 5,000 more pig confinements and cattle lots across the state than originally believed, a report to the federal government last month shows. That's nearly 50 percent more animal feeding operations than the state initially inventoried."It's clearly too easy for confinements to slip under the radar," said Jess Mazour, an organizer at Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. [node:read-more:link]
The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission denied a petition that would have made it tougher for animal feeding operations to be built in Iowa. Petition supporters sought to strengthen the state's master matrix — a scoring system designed to give local residents input on proposed animal feeding operations — saying the changes would better protect people living near livestock facilities from odor and water pollution.But opponents said the petition would make it so difficult to get a passing score, it would result in a statewide moratorium on livestock facilities. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Climate Prediction Center (CPC), a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), says that the Pacific Ocean equator temperatures have at least a 50% chance of cooling to La Nina values by December. Accordingly, the CPC issued a La Nina watch Sept. 14. In issuing the watch, CPC details noted an emphasis on subsurface cooling in the equator region waters of the Pacific. [node:read-more:link]
