SARL Members and Alumni

When feral hogs invaded a 1,400-acre tract in southern Davie County, the owners, a Salisbury-based conservation group, came up with what it says is a unique solution: Sign up hunters to settle the score. Three Rivers Land Trust, formerly known as LandTrust for Central North Carolina, has battled hogs since acquiring the farmland between the Yadkin and South Yadkin rivers in 2012. Local people say the hogs were released there illegally a couple of years earlier. [node:read-more:link]

Changes are coming in the way farmers grow, pack, hold and distribute ready-to-eat produce, and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) can help by performing a free, on-farm readiness review. Farmers who sell more than $25,000 in applicable produce per year may be subject to the new federal legislation. Regulatory inspections are expected to begin in mid-2019, but farmers can find out now if they are ready for the changes, with time to make any necessary adjustments. [node:read-more:link]

The resignation of Lyle Stewart as minister of agriculture triggered a mini-cabinet shuffle for Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. Wood River MLA and farmer Dave Marit will be assuming the job Stewart held for six years. [node:read-more:link]

A previously unaddressed provision of Illinois’ animal care law has caused police officers to hesitate before taking steps to rescue suffering dogs or cats, but a bill signed into law last week should change that, experts say. The bill, which took effect Aug. [node:read-more:link]

As a new think tank focused on rural Georgia starts up, the state’s small-town lawmakers regrouped in hopes of drumming up fresh strategies for growing jobs in districts like theirs. “Everything that we do is geared towards possible legislation that will address the issues of rural Georgia and economic development in rural Georgia, so this is not just a feel-good presentation,” Rep. Jay Powell, R-Camilla, who co-chairs the House Rural Development Council, said to the group.“This is to actually try to move the needle in rural Georgia,” Powell said. [node:read-more:link]

Canadian officials have decided that the country’s cannabis farmers are eligible for federal funding that supports innovation and sustainability efforts in agriculture. The decision in Canada happened as the country gears up to launch a nationwide, regulated cannabis industry on Oct. 17. It’s yet another stark contrast to what is happening in the United States, where marijuana businesses still operate in a system where their product is illegal at the federal level.Cannabis farmers can make requests for federal funds. Such applications will need approval by both local and federal officials. [node:read-more:link]

The California Department of Food and Agriculture began accepting grant applications today from organizations that can provide technical assistance to applicants for the state’s Climate Smart Agriculture programs, which aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural operations.
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The Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board, an independent state agency tasked with setting milk prices and helping farmers find markets, should review whether it needs greater authority to stabilize prices.That was one of several proposals unveiled Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which studied ways to help the state’s dairy industry survive a years-long economic crisis. [node:read-more:link]

Massachusetts Gov. Charles D. Baker has vetoed permissive raw milk language in a bill to help coastal areas pay for recent storm damage and instead proposed lawmakers consider stronger regulation of milk that does not undergo pasteurization. [node:read-more:link]

Myriad signs point to the need for better connecting farmers to services that help them deal with stress, depression and other mental health challenges. First, there is the history of the problem: In a study examining various industries between 1992 and 2010, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that farm operators and workers had the highest suicide rate. Second, many rural U.S. [node:read-more:link]