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Craig Myhre, a farmer in western Wisconsin, is trying to make a living off 600 acres of crops and a small herd of beef cattle. He also hires himself out to harvest other farmers’ fields, earning money to make payments on his combine. It’s still tough to make ends meet, despite putting in 12- to 16-hour days. In 2015, he added yet another job, as a mail carrier.“We’re constantly doing something around here to keep things moving,” said Mr. Myhre, who is 50 years old. [node:read-more:link]

The state House this week showed strong support for redistributing wolves in Washington, except from lawmakers whose districts could be candidates for taking in wolves. The House voted 85-13 on Tuesday to direct the Department of Fish and Wildlife to study moving wolves from Eastern Washington to Western Washington. The “no” votes, three Democrats and 10 Republicans, were cast by westside legislators whose districts include expansive tracts of wildlife habitat. [node:read-more:link]

egislation introduced in the Kansas Senate defining parameters for chicken houses would help expand the state’s currently modest chicken industry and is endorsed by Kansas State University faculty and county economic development groups. State officials and university ag experts testified this week that the poultry industry represents the one area of animal agriculture that is expanding, and said the bill would not weaken state environmental standards. [node:read-more:link]

A plan to create a fishing license lottery to get new people into the scallop fishery has passed a key hurdle in the Maine Legislature.The Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources unanimously approved the proposal on Feb. 14. It now moves to the full Legislature, which is likely to vote on it in the next couple of weeks.The average age of Maine scallop fishermen is higher than 50, and the fishery has been closed to new people since 2009. [node:read-more:link]

The New Mexico agency that regulates oil and natural gas development has a plan to start plugging more of the hundreds of abandoned wells located across the state. The state Oil Conservation Division is seeking to plug 41 wells on state land and 19 on private land during the current fiscal year [node:read-more:link]

A bill that would further codify in state law a landmark Idaho Supreme Court decision on who owns stock watering rights on federally administered land has been sent to the House floor with a “do-pass” recommendation. [node:read-more:link]

State Rep. Jason Shaw, R-Lakeland, introduced legislation that would create the Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation. “Our state has experienced tremendous economic success in recent years, and we are proud to be named the number one state in the country to do business or five consecutive years,” Shaw said. “However, this significant growth has been largely focused within the Metro Atlanta region, and rural Georgia has not seen the same level of economic prosperity. Rural Georgia faces distinct economic challenges, and with this legislation, we could continue to study these issues. [node:read-more:link]

Governor Steve Bullock signed an executive order to protect net neutrality in Montana by requiring that successful recipients of state contracts adhere to internet neutrality principles. As the first governor in the country to implement action in the wake of the FCC’s decision to repeal net neutrality rules, Governor Bullock invited other governors and statehouses to join him. Governor Bullock’s administration will offer the framework to other states who wish to follow. [node:read-more:link]

The Tennessee Dept. of Agriculture has recognized the first round of recipients of grants aimed at supporting rural agricultural programs in the Volunteer State. The grants from the Agricultural Enterprise Fund (AEF) are part of a plan to facilitate job creation, economic development and agricultural development in rural Tennessee, the agency said in a news release. [node:read-more:link]

Lawmakers in more than two-thirds of the states are considering ways to reduce prescription drug costs, including importing them from Canada, as they strive to balance budgets without knowing for sure what their government’s share of the tab will be. A total of 87 bills in 34 states of all political stripes seek to save money on prescription drugs, according to the nonpartisan National Academy for State Health Policy. Six of those states are considering bills that would allow drugs to be imported from Canada, where they cost an average 30 percent less than in the United States. [node:read-more:link]