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This report identifies actions we are taking at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to meet the challenge of advancing agricultural trade, improving service delivery to agricultural producers, and addressing the needs of Rural America. These steps are part of a broader on-going review of the Department based on the President’s March 13, 2017; Executive Order 13781 entitled “Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch.”  Section 3208 of the Agricultural Act of 2014, Pub. L. [node:read-more:link]

As more and more people are adopting a gluten-free diet, a new study investigates the nutritional content of gluten-free products and finds them lacking.  The researchers evaluated the nutritional content of 654 gluten-free foods and compared them with 655 products that contained gluten.The study found that gluten-free products had a higher energy content than gluten-containing items. Additionally, foods with gluten contained up to three times more protein than their gluten-free counterparts.Bread, pasta, pizza, and flour all had a particularly high protein content. [node:read-more:link]

Unpasteurized milk and cheeses made from it are responsible for nearly all foodborne illnesses caused by contaminated dairy products. And the growing popularity of and access to these products threaten to increase the number of disease outbreaks caused by these food items, a new study says. [node:read-more:link]

Following the success of last year’s #FarmingFridays social content series, Culver’s has again invited agricultural influencers to share photos and videos depicting their passion for and knowledge about agriculture.  #FarmingFridays is part of Culver’s Thank You Farmers initiative, which recognizes the hard work and commitment of the farmers who feed the nation. [node:read-more:link]

America's dairy farmers have been having a tough couple of years. There's a glut of milk on the market, and prices are low.Wisconsin's dairypeople seem especially put out. They've persuaded one of their U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Blizzard Flattens Winter Wheat; Rains Drown Corn, Soybean Fields.April is known for erratic weather, but the month may have outdone itself this year.Over the weekend, a wintry storm system dumped up to two feet of snow on parts of the Great Plains, flattening a winter wheat crop that was maturing weeks ahead of normal. [node:read-more:link]

usinesses selling marijuana in states where it is legal just got some reassurance from Congress that they don’t have to worry about a federal crackdown anytime soon. The spending bill that will keep the government open until September includes the extension of a policy that prohibits the Department of Justice from using federal money to interfere with states’ medical marijuana laws.

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Just days before they might have had to close, most of the Wisconsin dairy farms caught up in a trade dispute with Canada have found buyers for their milk, enabling them to stay in business. At risk had been some 58 farms ranging in size from 80 to 3,000 cows. There’s also a “Plan B” in the works, said Gefvert, of Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation. No details have been released, and the plan is only tentative. [node:read-more:link]

At the end of a long gravel road in East College Station, the world's first cloned cat -- now 15 years old -- lives in what longtime Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science researcher Duane Kraemer describes affectionately as a "kitty barn." CC, also known as Copy Cat, was born in December 2001, the result of the 87th attempt at cloning a cat by Kraemer's lab at Texas A&M after several years of trying.Kraemer, who recently retired from the university, said the success was simply the product of his team's work in pushing the boundaries of what is possible to accomplish. [node:read-more:link]

Much needed reform of Ohio’s CAUV formula has been included in the Ohio House’s biennial budget proposal, which is good news for Ohio’s family farmers, according to the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. The budget proposal would address nonfarm influences from the formula that tend to artificially raise CAUV values. It would also ensure that farmers are not penalized for adopting conservation practices that protect water quality. [node:read-more:link]