Agriculture

The purpose of days like Day WIthout Latinos and Day Without Immigrants is to show the value of immigrant workers in our communities, which is especially true in the dairy industry, where immigrant workers make up more than 50 percent of farm employees. "They are a significant impact on agriculture, especially the dairy industry," Jennifer Blazek said. "Having those people who are willing to work and who are hard workers, a lot of farmers have really enjoyed the work ethic of their employees," Blazek said. She said without them there could be significant impacts. [node:read-more:link]

Within the organic community, some worry the movement — and that’s how many see it, as a movement — will lose its soul as “Big Ag” takes over organic production and snaps up small organic processors.  “If we continue to mainstream, is there anything left of what was organic, or do we just become product manufacturers?” asked Oregon organic pioneer David Lively.  As the Costcos, Wal-Marts and Krogers of the world continue to enter the organic market, “Are they really concerned with what we’re doing, or is it a marketing opportunity?” Lively said. [node:read-more:link]

Economists painted a gray outlook for the farm economy and called for a stronger federal safety during a congressional hearing meant to set the stage for drafting a new farm bill. Economists from USDA, the Kansas City Federal Reserve, Texas A&M and the University of Missouri all said farm finances look to dip in 2017 for the fourth consecutive year. Farmers are struggling, but not as bad as the 1980s yet and low prices are buoyed by higher yields. [node:read-more:link]

The Maryland Department of Agriculture and Irish agri-tech company Biomass Heating Solutions Limited, or BHSL, have committed nearly $3 million toward manure-to-energy technology that they hope will significantly reduce the impact of Murphy's chickens — and perhaps one day all Eastern Shore poultry — on the Chesapeake Bay.  "Our main objective is bird enhancement," BHSL project engineer James O'Sullivan said. "We want to completely diminish ammonium (from Murphy's chickens to the bay). [node:read-more:link]

A new study contradicts decades of thought, research and teaching on the history of corn cultivation in the American Bottom, a floodplain of the Mississippi River in Illinois. The study refutes the notion that Indian corn, or maize, was cultivated in this region hundreds of years before its widespread adoption at about 1000 A.D. [node:read-more:link]

Agricultural labor is not just an issue for farmers. For every job on the farm, there are two to three more supported in transportation, food processing, equipment and supply manufacturing, sales and marketing, and other fields beyond rural farm communities. The ongoing shortage of available seasonal farm labor and the uncertainty related to the legal status of the existing workforce has prompted many growers to attempt to use a federal temporary guest-worker visa program for agriculture, known as H-2A. [node:read-more:link]

State Fair officials on Friday announced they would give the city a minimum of $6 million to fix up Fair Park. The funds, which the State Fair is contractually obligated to use on such improvements, are an increase over last year's total.  But the announcement coincided with increasing scrutiny of the State Fair's finances and whether the 24-day festivities make for a bad neighbor to the impoverished residents who surround the 277-acre city-owned park. [node:read-more:link]

Designing “smart bee storage” to revolutionize the industry has been a labor of love for Israel Bravo for the past 15 years – and it appears it’s an idea whose time has come, given the success of a prototype facility this winter.  Bravo had looked far and wide to find a system that could dependably control the climate in a storage facility to keep bees healthy during their winter reprieve from pollinating crops and producing honey for human consumption.  He finally found it in the expertise at Agri-Stor, a Twin Falls company that has been designing potato cellars for 60 years. [node:read-more:link]

Teaming with the Humane Society of the United States, Folio can now screen out companies involved with factory farms, which have come under increasing criticism from animal rights advocates for the overcrowding and mistreatment of their livestock.  “We are very interested in allowing people to invest in a way that alligns with their values,” said Greg Vigrass, president of Folio Institutional. “Working with filters for investments has always been in our DNA and we recently stepped up the commitment.”  The Humane Society maintains a list of firms that engage in factory farming. [node:read-more:link]

A recent column (Dec. 19) denouncing the significance of biomedical research that uses animals and encouraging the University of Montana to abandon such projects was grossly misleading with respect to the true need and value of animals in research, including their treatment and care. [node:read-more:link]