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Massachusetts, like the rest of the country, is experiencing growing disparity between rural and urban centers.To reverse this trend, Massachusetts requires a rural strategy for economic growth. We must do more to attract investment that retains and expands existing jobs, stimulates the creation of new jobs and attracts new business and industry in these parts of the commonwealth. Between 2010 and 2017, the nation’s population grew by some 17 million people. [node:read-more:link]

The recent award of $25 million in damages to residents who sued a Smithfield hog farm prompted a rally this week in support of hog farmers, and proposals that could restrict such lawsuits are moving through the state legislature. Several hundred people gathered in Duplin County, N.C., to support hog farmers across the state that could become targets of what the protesters called nuisance lawsuits over the disposal of hog waste or other environmental impacts. [node:read-more:link]

Undocumented workers are an integral part of industries such as farming. Reducing our reliance on undocumented workers will have big impacts for farming communities and American consumers.While the nation’s attention is currently focused on the southern border, what’s being forgotten is that millions of undocumented immigrants continue to live in the U.S. – and most of them work.And in fact, these workers play vital roles in the U.S. economy, erecting American buildings, picking American apples and grapes, and taking care of American babies. Oh, and paying American taxes. [node:read-more:link]

Washington state is home to some of the most successful companies in the world: Starbucks, Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing. It may not be thought of as a farm state, but its agricultural industry is huge, with more than $8 billion in exports.$1.8 billion worth of Washington exports, including more than $1 billion in agricultural products, are expected to be hit by retaliatory tariffs. Retaliatory tariffs from our trading partners will be soon be imposed on an estimated $1.8 billion worth of Washington exports, including more than $1 billion in agricultural products. [node:read-more:link]

New program pays up to 90 percent of land value.Under the program, landowners enroll land in the federal Conservation Reserve Program for 15 years. But they also sign up for the Reinvest in Minnesota program, and agree to a permanent easement, a legal document stipulating the land must always be managed for conservation.The federal program protects land for 10 or 15 years, opening the door for the land to be plowed under again. [node:read-more:link]

World milk production is projected to increase by 22 percent by 2027, with the majority of that production increase (80 percent) expected to come from developing countries according to an annual report by the Organization for Ecoomic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  Pakistan and India are expected to jointly account for 32 percent of total milk production by 2027, compared to 26 percent in the base period of 2015-17, said the report, OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2018-2027.
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President Trump has railed against Canada for taking advantage of the U.S. when it comes to trade. Trump may not like it, but those tariffs are part of a politically sensitive, decades-old policy to protect Canada's dairy farmers. The system is called "supply management" and it sets production quotas for the country's dairy, poultry products and eggs.Murray Sherk, the owner of the family-run Pinehill Dairy in Plattsville, Ontario, says supply management helps keep prices stable, gives farmers a steady income and has succeeded in avoiding a milk surplus in Canada. [node:read-more:link]

Following a steep decline in agricultural commodity prices, the past several years have seen a weaker market for farmland and an uptick in interest rates. At the same time, farm sector income has declined and farm interest expenses have increased. How vulnerable might the farm sector be to a further decline in commodity prices or a rise in interest rates? Inflation-adjusted net cash farm income for the sector is forecast in 2018 to be 38 percent lower than its peak in 2012 and 7 percent below its 1970-2016 average. [node:read-more:link]

A Wisconsin dairy farmer says domestic problems may be a bigger threat to his industry than Canadian trade policy. James Juedes, who owns a dairy farm that has been in his family for more than a century, said, “If we would’ve had the foresight to do what Canada did 10-15 years ago, to limit what we had for production, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” Instead of focusing on Canada, Juedes is more worried about the American dairy hurting itself by producing more milk than the U.S. can handle. [node:read-more:link]

Ending a dispute over a proposed net neutrality bill, California Democratic legislators said Thursday they have agreed on a proposal that would provide the strongest protections of open access to the internet in the country in response to last month’s federal repeal of similar rules.The compromise measures, which still require legislative approval, would bar internet service providers from blocking, speeding up or slowing down websites and video, as well as charging websites fees for fast lanes, said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), an author of one of the two proposed bills. [node:read-more:link]