The Upper Midwest is in the grips of a historic drought, pretty close on the heels of several historic floods. Both extremes cause devastating, expensive problems for agriculture. But agronomist Andrea Basche thinks an answer to improving outcomes for droughts and floods might be the same."It might surprise people that soil can be a part of the solution," Basche says. [node:read-more:link]
Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co., the two largest U.S. chemical makers, have received all the regulatory approvals needed to close their historic merger. The deal will be completed after the stock market closes on Aug. 31, the companies said in a statement Friday. Shares of DowDuPont Inc. will begin trading Sept. 1 under the ticker DWDP. The companies, with a combined market value approaching $150 billion, would surpass BASF SE as the world’s largest chemical company. [node:read-more:link]
A draft report produced by 13 federal agencies concludes that the United States is already feeling the negative impacts of climate change, with a stark increase in the frequency of heat waves, heavy rains and other extreme weather over the last four decades. The preliminary report summarizes the current state of the science for the upcoming National Climate Assessment. Trump and his Cabinet have expressed public doubts that the warming is being primarily driven by man-made carbon pollution and will have serious consequences for Americans. [node:read-more:link]
If Congress permits the resumption of horse slaughter in the United States, it will be a difficult start-up. For one thing, companies will need to make investments in an industry that could be defunded again in a few years.For another, horses aren’t raised for meat. FSIS recognized that horses had the highest level of residue violations of all the slaughter classes. As we were looking at regulatory options, Congress made further considerations unnecessary with the ban. If horse slaughter resumes, expect FSIS to take a stronger regulatory posture than before the ban.So, the abandonment a [node:read-more:link]
Neil deGrasse Tyson is a man of many interests. Besides his fascination with how the universe operates, he’s actually quite interested in both food and wine. When it comes to food, though, there is one topic that Tyson is constantly addressing: GMOs. Most recently, he discussed genetically modified organisms with Dr. Pamela Ronald, a plant pathologist, geneticist, and professor at UC Davis, on his StarTalk podcast. [node:read-more:link]
Wetland restoration projects on farmland will have to clear a new hurdle in Oregon’s Tillamook County to ensure they don’t disrupt agricultural practices. [node:read-more:link]
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has released research examining how the growing popularity of locally sourced food can be harnessed to boost economic opportunities for both rural and urban communities. Regional food systems are a promising avenue for economic growth through creation and enhancement of jobs and businesses, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in a foreword to the research. Those opportunities can advance the financial security of low- and moderate-income households and communities, they said. [node:read-more:link]
A recent USDA report questioning the system used by Canadian food inspectors for meat, poultry and eggs is expected to lead to another review of procedures as Canadian officials address proposed corrective actions. The report stems from a series of “onsite equivalence verification” audits by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) last September at seven slaughter and processing plants and other Canadian offices and facilities. FSIS also verified that Canada’s Central Competent Authority (CCA) took the corrective actions offered by the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
Walt Disney Co., parent of ABC News, is likely funding $177 million of its settlement with Beef Products Inc. in the processor’s libel and defamation suit against the network, while Disney’s insurers cover the remainder of the cost, a BPI attorney told Meatingplace in an emailed statement. South Dakota-based BPI sued ABC for $1.9 billion over its 2012 coverage of lean finely textured beef, including its use of the term “pink slime” to describe the product. Under South Dakota law, such a claim may be trebled. Terms of the settlement, reached in June, were not announced. [node:read-more:link]
Could any of our communities actually survive on local food alone? Could we ever get to a point where local food makes up most of our diets and where local farmers are successfully supplying that? The more I study this, the more I realize it would be pretty darn tough, if not impossible. But, being an apartment dweller who hasn't had the opportunity to spend much time on farms, I wanted to talk to some real farmers to find out if this rang true from their perspective. Were they supporting themselves with their farm income? [node:read-more:link]
