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Bills surfaced in both states that would let utilities refinance uneconomic power plants using ratepayer-backed bonds. [node:read-more:link]

 Read by title and passed by a vote of 34 yeas and 0 nays; ordered reengrossed and sent to the House.Food manufacturers selling products such as "cauliflower rice" could face new labeling restrictions in Louisiana, under a bill in the Legislature.The Senate voted 34-0 Monday (April 22) for a “truth in labeling” measure that adds protections for meat, rice and sugar producers.Sen. Francis Thompson, a Delhi Democrat, says he wants to ensure consumers know what they're buying.His proposal is similar to legislation signed in Arkansas. [node:read-more:link]

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo marked Earth Day on Monday by signing into law a measure banning most single-use plastic bags, making New York the third state in the nation to enact a statewide bag policy. The ban, which goes into effect in March 2020, prohibits retailers that collect sales tax, including supermarkets and small businesses, from handing out disposable plastic bags, with a few exceptions. [node:read-more:link]

Legislation to fund agriculture, rural development and affordable workforce housing passed the Minnesota Senate Finance Committee this week.The comprehensive omnibus budget bill places an emphasis on rural broadband expansion, invests in affordable manufactured/modular housing and home ownership, and prioritizes value-added agriculture opportunities that directly impact farmers.Specifically, the bill makes a one-time investment in an innovative soybean processing and research facility near the University of Minnesota – Crookston; invests in the Dairy Modernization and Innovation program to [node:read-more:link]

The big fight in the Nebraska Legislature this year is over plans to reduce property taxes, which has the state's farm lobbies pushing lawmakers hard for some relief. Numbers taken from the 2017 Ag Census show Nebraska farmers have more reason to complain about property taxes than farmers in nearby states.Farm income nationally fell between 2012 and 2017, and land values fell in some states during that time. Property taxes nationally for farmers went up $2 billion over that five-year stretch, jumping from $7.4 billion to $9.4 billion. [node:read-more:link]

For five straight months, the Rural Mainstreet Index(RMI) has shown above neutral growth for the rural economy. The monthly survey of bank CEOs in a 10-state Midwest region is at 50.0 for April 2019, which is at growth neutral and down slightly from 52.9 in March.  “Our surveys over the last several months indicate the Rural Mainstreet economy is expanding outside of agriculture. However, this month, 43.8% of bank CEOs indicated that the recent floods were having a negative impact on their local economy,” says Ernie Goss, who chairs Creighton’s Heider College of Business and leads the RMI. [node:read-more:link]

As devastating images of the 2019 Midwest floods fade from view, an insidious and longer-term problem is emerging across its vast plains: The loss of topsoil that much of the nation’s food supply relies on. Today, Midwest farmers are facing millions of bushels of damaged crops such as soybean and corn. [node:read-more:link]

A recent New York Times opinion piece suggested that no one knows how stop the undermining of rural America from economic forces. While these forces have driven a growing divide between urban and rural communities, we can’t allow the past or the scale of the challenge deter from incremental progress or big ideas.It is time to have a serious and thoughtful discussion about the issues that are affecting small towns across this country. In an era of fragmentation, isolation and divisiveness, it is easy to discount rural communities and the people who live in them. [node:read-more:link]

The so-called bomb cyclone that brought heavy snow, blizzard conditions and major flooding to the Midwest in March landed with a resounding meteorological “ka-boom!” and became one of two billion-dollar weather and climate disasters this year. The other was a severe storm that struck the Northeast, Southeast and Ohio Valley in late February. And it’s only April. [node:read-more:link]

The share of food spending that goes to America’s farmers fell for the sixth straight year in 2017, according to the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS). Farmers earned 14.6 cents in commodity sales on every dollar Americans spent for food in 2017 – about a fifth of a cent less than farmers received in 2016.Farmers’ share of America’s food dollars has been eroding since 2011, when farmers received 17.6 cents for every dollar spent on food in the United States. [node:read-more:link]