The farm is a way of life Heather Retberg said needs to be protected from an aggressive regulatory structure that keeps small farms from getting food to local people. State legislators' pushback against "food sovereignty" advocates like Retberg, in Maine and elsewhere in the country, has only emboldened her.   "It's my right, as an individual, to grow the food I eat, she said." [node:read-more:link]

After its review, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service has ruled that the National Pork Board can continue to pay its $3 million annual payments to the National Pork Producers Council for the “Pork: The Other White Meat” trademarks. The review was conducted following a lawsuit filed by the Humane Society of the US in 2012 alleging the payment for the trademarks was an unlawful use of Pork Checkoff Funds.  A district judge dismissed the case and an appellate court reversed that decision last year. [node:read-more:link]

Scotts Miracle Gro will phase out neonicotinoids in its garden care lineup by 2021.  Study results on the chemical are varied, as far as the severity of its contribution to the decline of the bee population. In fact, many have concluded there is no clear link between neonicotinoids and the honey bee syndrome known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). [node:read-more:link]

Federal data show that the number of banks and credit unions across the country willing to handle pot money under Treasury Department guidelines issued two years ago has jumped from 51 in March 2014 to 301 last month.

More than three years into Washington's legal pot experiment, a large majority of businesses are paying taxes electronically, a sign of better access to bank accounts. The state is even poised to require electronic payments unless the shops can show a good reason to pay in cash. [node:read-more:link]

Back in 1995, an innovative PR firm or in-house marketing genius invented the famous “save the cow” marketing strategy for Chick-fil-A.  For twenty-one years now, this award-winning ad campaign has helped the Chick-fil-A brand differentiate itself from the crowded beef burger landscape.  Kudos to them for their competitive creativity.  If only it didn’t come at the beef industry’s expense. [node:read-more:link]

When you eat a shrimp, you probably want it to be juicy. That’s why University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers are trying to find alternatives to phosphates to lock in that texture and savory flavor. [node:read-more:link]

Biosecurity breaches probably caused one of the worst animal disease crises in the United States. Fast moving outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in 21 states resulted in the destruction of 50 million turkeys and chickens last year. More cases affecting 400,000 birds were reported in Indiana at the beginning of this year. The rapid spread of the disease showed increased vulnerability in the animal population, said John Clifford, chief trade adviser for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [node:read-more:link]

The company doesn't seem too keen on old-school GMOs anymore. Fraley accompanied us to the biotechnology wing of the research center, the first stop on our tour. Strikingly, we didn't hear a peep about the GM wonder crops that the industry used to claim were just around the corner: corn that grows well in drought conditions, say, or thrives with minimal amounts of nitrogen fertilizer. [node:read-more:link]

There has been a "sea change in the last five years, led by forward looking companies",particularly in the clothing, food and drink industries. [node:read-more:link]

A new mobile tool created by a Canadian producer co-operative offers producers the ability to capture livestock data in the field with the device that is already in their pocket [node:read-more:link]