Agriculture

The cows are being put to pasture—forever.  The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections is preparing to end a program that puts convicts to work alongside state farm employees to maintain animals and gardens. The program is being slashed to make more room for “more meaningful career training opportunities,” the prison system said. But not everyone agrees with that logic.  At least 50 state employees will lose their jobs as the program is phased out, which has rankled the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association. [node:read-more:link]

The bumblebees inside the boxes don’t seem to like it, either. My host from Bee Vectoring Technology, a Toronto startup, tells me the insects prefer calmer days and warmer temperatures. In better weather, I might have seen the pollinators buzz out of the nickel-size holes at the ends of the boxes at a regular clip, dipping from flower to flower in the surrounding field, each carrying an unusual delivery: a white dust formulated to protect the strawberries from a type of rot known as Botrytis cinerea, or gray mold. The dust contains a benign fungus, Clonostachys rosea. [node:read-more:link]

One fundamental tenet the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) impresses upon those seeking verification is the importance of good record-keeping. It’s hard to evaluate progress without marking where you started and documenting gains made by implementing on-farm conservation practices.  Now the program itself is taking that same lesson to heart with the implementation of a new MAEAP database its organizers will use to better track, document and promote the program’s stewardship achievements statewide. [node:read-more:link]

A report from the federal Agriculture Department shows that Wisconsin lost almost 400 dairy farms in the last year, though one official says the news isn’t all that bad.  Wisconsin Public Radio reports that about 94,000 dairy herds were active in the state as of Oct. 1 — 4 percent fewer than in 2015. Wisconsin Dairy Business Association President Gordon Speirs says the number of lost farms this year is low compared to previous years, when annual losses reached as high as 1,000. He says that’s “a real victory for our industry” given low milk prices in the past year and a half. [node:read-more:link]

Cashmere is not merely goat hair. [node:read-more:link]

The drama over possible illegal use of dicamba continues. The Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed that it executed federal search warrants at several southeastern Missouri locations as part of an investigation into alleged misuse or misapplication of dicamba onto herbicide-tolerant soybeans and cotton.  The agency said in a formal statement that the activity was part of an ongoing criminal inquiry and stems from widespread complaints of damage to sensitive crops across Missouri and several other states in the Midwest and Southeast. [node:read-more:link]

The looming failure of free trade talks with the European Union would derail Canada's push to reduce its dependence on the United States and potentially complicate negotiations with other nations, such as India and China.  The EU's hopes of signing the pact this week appeared to evaporate on Monday as the Belgian government failed to win the consent of regional authorities necessary to approve the deal.  The European deal would have given Canada preferential access to a market of 500 million people, more than the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), at a time when the U.S.-Canadian [node:read-more:link]

The drama over possible illegal use of dicamba continues. The Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed that it executed federal search warrants at several southeastern Missouri locations as part of an investigation into alleged misuse or misapplication of dicamba onto herbicide-tolerant soybeans and cotton.  The agency said in a formal statement that the activity was part of an ongoing criminal inquiry and stems from widespread complaints of damage to sensitive crops across Missouri and several other states in the Midwest and Southeast. [node:read-more:link]

A webinar: Science points to runoff from agricultural fields as a cause of elevated levels of Nitrogen and Phosphorous in our nation’s waterways, leading to Harmful Algal Blooms, hypoxia and other water quality issues.  In this webinar, Hall will present an overview of different approaches states are taking to address water quality impacts from the surface application of agricultural nutrients, from voluntary to mandatory efforts.   Hall will highlight the most recent and innovative state-based efforts, share data on water quality improvements related to reduction efforts and analyze how di [node:read-more:link]

Brazil's JBS SA will evaluate alternatives to unlock the company's value after shareholder BNDES Participações (BNDESPar) vetoed its corporate reorganization plans announced in May, global CEO Wesley Batista told analysts in conference calls. Batista did not detail what alternatives the company will consider. The world's largest meat processor previously considered listing its Brazilian poultry and processed foods unit Seara, and JBS USA as a strategic alternative. [node:read-more:link]