Agriculture

Cattle that can crank out human antibodies are being tested as a first line of defense against infectious diseases. SAB Biotherapeutics of South Dakota has genetically engineered cattle to produce large quantities of human antibodies—proteins that help remove harmful foreign pathogens from the body—in a rapid fashion that could be used to treat patients suffering from infectious diseases like Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Ebola, and influenza. [node:read-more:link]

Years later I entered journalism. And I saw breathtaking ignorance and vitriol aimed at scientists like me coming from supposedly educated people. Never in a million years would I have anticipated that our passion for science would be used as a bludgeon or as a scarlet letter.  That is the milieu in which we find the current GMO "debate," which in actuality has devolved into a vicious, relentless assault by organic food activists against the biotechnology community. [node:read-more:link]

Four hundred and fifty billion dollars. That’s the amount of money Chinese officials recently announced they would invest to improve the country’s farms over the next four years. The Agricultural Development Bank of China has created a fund to loan out at least that much money by 2020, according to state media. Experts that I talked to are skeptical — China has announced it would spend big money before and followed through with just a fraction — but even a fraction of $450 billion could be transformative. [node:read-more:link]

Yes, that's agriculture.  A Commonwealth Court panel reached that conclusion this week when it overturned a York County judge's ruling that blocked creation of a chicken slaughterhouse in Paradise Township. The ruling, issued in an opinion by Judge Anne E. Covey, means Balady Farms can start processing the organic, free-range chickens it raises on its 23-acre property along Moulstown Road near Abbottstown. [node:read-more:link]

Hurricane Matthew’s heavy rains are predicted to soak much of Florida, and that could complicate efforts to manage the pollution flowing into a sinkhole that opened up beneath a fertilizer plant’s massive pile of toxic waste. The plant’s owner, Mosaic Co., is pumping out water through a well while preparing to plug the huge hole under one of its gypsum stacks. But million s of gallons of contaminated water have already drained into Florida’s main drinking-water aquifer. So far, the company and state environmental officials say no contamination has migrated off Mosaic’s property. [node:read-more:link]

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association today announced that eligible beef producers can request an absentee ballot to participate in the referendum on whether the $.50 per head Iowa beef checkoff should be reinstated. The referendum will be held on November 30, 2016.  Any individual, firm, corporation, partnership or association that has owned or acquired cattle during year prior to the referendum (December 1, 2015 – November 30, 2016) is an “Eligible Beef Producer” for the purposes of this referendum. [node:read-more:link]

he Effingham County Board of Education is buying a working cattle farm for $1.2 million to use as an agriculture center.  Honey Ridge Plantation is three miles south of Guyton, less than a mile off Georgia Highway 17 in Pineora, on paved Honey Ridge Plantation Road.  The 310-acre farm will be paid for with education sales tax dollars.  The board voted 4-0 on Aug. 18 to purchase the property. The school system has 60 days from the contract date to inspect it and do a new survey, title search and environmental study. Closing will take place within 30 days of the inspection period. [node:read-more:link]

Animal Lib philosopher headlines HSUS conference. Peter Singer, the controversial Princeton University philosopher, will headline a conference hosted by the Humane Society of the United States.  Singer, whose book “Animal Liberation” shaped today’s animal rights movement, applauds changes in the way that livestock and poultry are being raised. But he has made it clear that he wants to see people stop consuming animal products altogether.  The conference will focus on state initiatives as well the changes in corporate policies for which HSUS has been pushing. [node:read-more:link]

New Zealand commodity prices rose for a fifth month in September, driven by dairy, although the strong kiwi dollar limited the benefits for local producers.  The ANZ commodity price index increased 5.1 per cent last month, bringing it to a 17-month high. In New Zealand dollar terms, prices rose 3.9 per cent in the month and are 5 per cent lower than in the same period last year. The release of the commodity price index follows the results of the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction thi s morning, where dairy prices posted their first fall since July. [node:read-more:link]

Hezekiah Allen is a third-generation marijuana farmer in this Northern California county, where the cool coastal fog pours off the Pacific Ocean, coaxing pot plants to heights of 20 feet. The executive director of the California Growers Association trade group, Allen has long sought an end to what he calls "prohibition" and has looked forward to a day when he and the thousands of pot farmers here would no longer be outlaws. [node:read-more:link]