SARL Members and Alumni

The Washington State Department of Agriculture may adopt rules requiring producers to tag every cow with radio-frequency identification, a level of electronic monitoring opposed by some ranchers. The department says the tags will help follow a cow from birth to slaughter, aiding animal-health officials to speedily respond to diseases and bringing the state in line with coming USDA standards.“These (the rules) are all intended to track an animal within hours rather than within days,” State Veterinarian Brian Joseph told the Senate Agriculture Committee Nov. 14. [node:read-more:link]

Minnesota livestock producers have until Dec. 15 to apply for grant money to help prevent wolf attacks. The deadline was extended three weeks due to a late harvest that kept farmers in the fields longer than average, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture said.The Wolf-Livestock Conflict Prevention Grants are a new program funded by the 2017 Minnesota Legislature with $240,000 available over the next two years. [node:read-more:link]

Despite a unanimous vote by a citizen’s air pollution board earlier this month, Virginia faces several hurdles, including possible court and legislative challenges, before it could join a regional carbon emissions trading network. [node:read-more:link]

Illinois has invested billions in electricity grid infrastructure, and now ranks 2nd nationally on grid modernization, but are these bulky efforts actually paying off nearly six years into the state’s initiative? State utilities have markedly improved reliability and operational efficiency through innovative smart grid technologies, but Illinois’ ambitious goal of adding more than 4 gigawatts (GW) of new wind and solar requires more than a modern grid - it requires more flexibility from customers.Fortunately, realistic policy solutions are within reach. [node:read-more:link]

 A high school senior will propose a bill during the 2018 Idaho legislative session requiring high school students to complete at least two agriculture education classes.If it passes, that means every student in the state would have to take at least two semesters of classes that teach them about agriculture. In other words, they would emerge from those classes with at least a basic understanding of the farming and ranching industry and where their food comes from, said Anna Peterson, 17, an FFA member at Skyview High School in Nampa who is proposing the legislation. [node:read-more:link]

Marijuana has deeply divided financially strapped Calaveras County, among many where growers are increasingly open about their operations and are starting to encroach on neighborhoods.DiBasilio estimates the county — population 44,000 and about the size of Rhode Island — has more than 1,000 illegal farms in addition to the hundreds with permits or in the process of obtaining them. [node:read-more:link]

Grants for solar energy manufacturing and arrays are being offered again in Pennsylvania. The Wolf administration announced this week that it had added back grants to the Solar Energy Program, which is designed to help finance solar energy projects and manufacturing in the state. The program is an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Commonwealth Financing Authority. [node:read-more:link]

Ohio's outline for sharply reducing what's making algae flourish in Lake Erie clearly shows that changes in farming methods are what's needed. The blueprint also has a long list of ways to do that, but some environmental groups say the state's updated plan still lacks clear direction about what should come next.The plan released Nov. [node:read-more:link]

Low-interest loans for projects that help prevent pollution are being expanded by the state to include larger livestock operations. Minnesota Department of Agriculture is expanding the Agricultural Best Management Practices – better known as AgBMP – loans under an agreement with the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program in Louisiana. [node:read-more:link]

House Speaker Shawn Jasper, R-Hudson, won confirmation as commissioner of agriculture today, setting up a battle to replace him as the New Hampshire Legislature heads into the 2018 legislative session.The two Democrats on the council, Andru Volinsky of Concord and Chris Pappas of Manchester, helped deliver this appointment to Sununu, a first-term Republican. “I think if the person is qualified, you get your choice, governor,” Volinsky said.  Republican Councilors David Wheeler and Joseph Kenney said they could not support voting for Jasper until the end of the 2018 session. [node:read-more:link]