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Agriculture News

FDA Announces 2017 Public Meetings and Comment Period on Reauthorization of Two Animal Drug User Fee Program

FDA | Posted on October 4, 2017

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will hold public meetings to offer opportunity for discussion on the proposed recommendations for reauthorization of the Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA) and Animal Generic Drug User Fee Act (AGDUFA). The recommendations will be published and posted online when available, prior to the meeting on November 2, 2017. Interested parties can share their comments at the meeting or by submitting them to the public docket electronically or by mail as described below. ADUFA and AGDUFA give the FDA the authority to collect user fees that provide funding to support the new animal drug and generic new animal drug review processes, respectively. These resources support the FDA’s responsibility to review these drugs for safety and effectiveness and to enhance the timeliness and predictability of application reviews. These programs expire on September 30, 2018. Without new legislation reauthorizing these programs, FDA will no longer have the authority to collect user fees to help fund the new animal drug and generic new animal drug review processes.


Our View: Will Anything Ever Satisfy Farm Critics? No

Farm Policy Facts | Posted on October 4, 2017

For decades, agriculture’s adversaries have said “no” to almost any policy that helped farmers. When farm policy was reformed to be more free-market oriented, critics said it wasn’t enough. When the agricultural sector stood alone and volunteered funding cuts to help close America’s budget deficit, critics said it wasn’t enough. When farmers began contributing to their own safety net through crop insurance to offset risk to taxpayers, critics said it wasn’t enough.And now that the 2014 Farm Bill has come in tens of billions under budget, critics still say it isn’t enough.“No” appears to be the only message the Environmental Working Group (EWG), Heritage Foundation, U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), Club for Growth, and other perennial farm policy opponents are capable of delivering.


EPA Pressed on RFS Changes

DTN | Posted on October 2, 2017

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering a major change to the Renewable Fuel Standard that could include offering biofuel credits attached to gallons of ethanol exported from the United States. Already this week, the U.S. biofuels industry took a punch to the gut when the EPA announced it was considering more cuts in some biofuel volumes in addition to cuts already proposed in the Renewable Fuel Standard.Now, another media outlet, citing anonymous sources, reported the agency is considering a proposal from Valero Energy to leave renewable identification numbers, or RINs, attached to U.S. ethanol gallons produced in the United States and exported. Currently, RINs are removed from exported gallons.Valero said in Aug. 31 public comments to EPA on the RFS that keeping RINs attached to exports would help ease pressure on the RINs market.When contacted by DTN an EPA spokesman said, "EPA is currently seeking input from all stakeholders involved. Nothing has been finalized at this time."


KDA Announces Kansas Wildfire Cost Share Initiative

Kansas Department of Agriculture | Posted on October 2, 2017

The Kansas Department of Agriculture announced that the State Conservation Commission has approved the creation of the Kansas Wildfire Cost Share Initiative which will provide funding in the amount of $200,000 for specific recovery expenses following recent wildfires in Kansas. The commission approved the action in September to work with local Conservation Districts in supporting the recovery efforts.Funds from the initiative are to be targeted at livestock water supplies, cross fencing, grass seeding, windbreaks and obstruction removal in the areas affected by the March 2017 Kansas wildfires as well as the Anderson Creek wildfire in 2016. Eligible areas for the initiative are in the following counties: Barber, Clark, Comanche, Ellis, Ellsworth, Ford, Hodgeman, Lane, Lincoln, McPherson, Meade, Ness, Reno, Rice, Rooks, Russell, Seward and Smith. Cost share assistance will be provided by the KDA Division of Conservation (DOC) through local county Conservation Districts.


Missouri man hopes to convince state Supreme Court that 'farming' marijuana is legal

Springfield News Leader | Posted on October 2, 2017

Mark Shanklin thinks he was well within his rights in June 2016 when a police officer knocked on his door after noting unusually high power usage at the St. Louis man's home.  Shanklin "...was covered in dirt or potting soil and reeked of marijuana" when Detective Gregory Klipsch asked him to talk, and he consented to a search after consulting with his wife, according to court documents. The state says a federal agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms tipped off local law enforcement.Inside, Klipsch found "...numerous potted plants of marijuana scattered throughout the residence along with lights and a pulley system," court documents say. "Headlights were affixed to the ceiling in some rooms and there was a table with lights and red Solo Cups with smaller marijuana plants."In addition to hundreds of plants, Shanklin had books on growing marijuana, a scale and cut cannabis inside various Tupperware containers.But Shanklin, through his attorney, contends that what he was doing should be considered perfectly legal. He argues that Missourians legalized growing marijuana in 2014 when voters passed a so-called "right-to-farm" amendment to the Missouri Constitution.As such, Shanklin argues the drug laws under which he was convicted are unconstitutional in their application to prohibit cannabis cultivation.


Washington lifts kill order on Smackout Pack after two attack-free months

Capital Press | Posted on October 2, 2017

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife won’t kill any more wolves from the Smackout Pack, because the predators haven’t attacked any cattle for two months. Under the state’s wolf plan and protocols, department director Jim Unsworth can authorize “an incremental removal of wolves,” said Donny Martorello, wolf policy lead for WDFW. That includes a period of active removal followed by a period to evaluate whether that action changed pack behavior.The department captured and euthanized two wolves from the pack July 20-30, and entered the evaluation period July 31.“We were monitoring the movements of wolves and looking for proximity of wolves and livestock,” Martorello said. “We were really trying to see, are these animals co-existing on the landscape without conflict?”Several ranchers have livestock on federal grazing allotments in the area. They will begin to collect the cattle at the end of the month, Martorello said.The three ranchers who experienced five documented losses to the Smackout Pack all met expectations for proactive and responsive measures to deter wolves, he said.

 


New Zealand producers frustrated by cage-free pledges

Watt Ag Net | Posted on October 2, 2017

New Zealand’s egg producers have branded as “unfair” the recent decision by two of the country’s leading supermarkets to sell only cage-free eggs in future. Producers face financial ruin, and consumers will lose their preferred option for eggs.Around six months ago, national retailer, Countdown, announced plans to sell only cage-free eggs by the end of 2024 in the North Island and by a year later across the rest of the country. The move followed criticism that it’s undertaking to sell only its own egg brand as cage-free from 2022 did not go far enough.


Broiler welfare: GAP stocking density rules infographic

Watt Ag Net | Posted on October 2, 2017

In order for broiler producers to become GAP certified, one area the producer must address is the flock’s stocking density. While all five steps of certification for stocking density call for chickens to have enough space to express natural behaviors – including standing, turning around and preening – without touching another chicken, the requirements differ at different steps.For purposes related to the GAP 5-Step certification program, stocking densities are calculated based on the final target weight of all chickens per flock per area at the time of catching. Operations can utilize a maximum of a two percent variation, rather than expected livability, when calculating the number of chickens to be placed within a given barn or house. For birds placed January 1 2018 to June 30, 2020, stocking density must not exceeed 6.5 lb/sq ft.


Stagnant farm economy slows growth in Iowa, Nebraska

Des Moines Register | Posted on October 2, 2017

A stagnant farm economy that has slowed Nebraska and Iowa's income growth to the lowest levels in the nation is also contributing to state budget problems that could linger through next year, officials said. Key lawmakers from both states said they're concerned the agricultural downturn will persist, ripping through other sectors and putting additional strain on their budgets.Declining farm income was the leading cause of the slowdown in many states, including Iowa and Nebraska, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The sluggish growth also hurt agricultural manufacturing, lending, land-rental income and other industries tied to farming, officials said."Our farmers have been hurting, and they've been hurting for some time now," said Nebraska State Tax Commissioner Tony Fulton. "The fact of the matter is it's a big deal in Nebraska."


Tenth Circuit says Wyoming trespass statute implicated First Amendment

Texas A&M | Posted on September 29, 2017

The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has held that the First Amendment is applicable to a Wyoming statute that prohibits crossing private property to collect resource data.  The statute, which would prohibit a variety of acts such as photographing, videoing, sampling, or otherwise gathering data on water, soil, and animals, was challenged by several plaintiffs who claimed it violated their free speech rights.  The trial court dismissed the case, finding that the collection of data was not “speech” such that the First Amendment was implicated.  The Tenth Circuit reversed, holding this action was speech.  Thus, the case was remanded back to the trial court, which will now apply the legal analysis required for a First Amendment challenge.  


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