Oregon lawmakers will consider several proposals during the 2019 Legislature to protect the state's $5.6 billion wine industry, including a measure aimed at preventing out-of-state winemakers from hijacking the names and reputations of certain growing areas. The issue stems from a dispute last year between several Willamette Valley wineries and Copper Cane LLC, a California wine producer that purchases grapes from about 50 Oregon vineyards to make Pinot noir and rosé. [node:read-more:link]

President Donald Trump pointed to farmers Monday as winners from the administration’s proposed rollback of federal protections for wetlands and waterways across the country, describing farmers crying in gratitude when he ordered the change. But under long-standing federal law and rules, farmers and farmland already are exempt from most of the regulatory hurdles on behalf of wetlands that the Trump administration is targeting. [node:read-more:link]

Iowa’s ethanol industry continues it’s streak of breaking annual production records as ethanol plants in the state produced 4.35 billion gallons of ethanol in 2018. Up from 4.2 billion in 2017, the production is just shy of the 4.5 billion gallon capacity of Iowa’s ethanol producers, which is expected to make up approximately 27 percent of all production nationally. Officials with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association said the achievement came during a difficult year and is a sign of strength. [node:read-more:link]

This week’s ruling by a federal judge striking down Iowa’s “ag-gag” law, which essentially bans undercover activity in agriculture, may cause angst in the agriculture community, but it also presents an opportunity.      The use of undercover video investigations is a strategy employed by animal welfare groups to bring public attention to their cause and influence farm and food company animal-care policies. The videos often show a farm worker appearing to commit animal abuse or mistreatment. Sometimes they are legitimate and sometimes not. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit against dicamba last week, but left open a door for the plaintiffs to expedite a new lawsuit in 2019. The original lawsuit, which was filed by four farm and environmental groups in 2017, argued that the EPA's 2016 registration of XtendiMax for over-the-top use on soybean and cotton fields was unlawful. [node:read-more:link]

Agriculture-dependent Indiana saw 10-percent of its dairy farms close in 2018. The Indiana State Board of Animal Health says there were 1,000 dairy farms in the state producing Grad A milk at the start of the year. By the end of 2018, there were 892 dairy farms still operating. [node:read-more:link]

fter years of low milk prices, about 75 dairy farms closed across Vermont in 2018. Harold Howrigan of Fairfield, Vermont, says the past year set a new low for dairy farmers in the state. And this year isn’t looking any better. In fact, dairy farmers say it’s looking worse.President Donald Trump’s tariff actions and the resulting trade war shut off access to foreign markets for U.S. dairy farmers. The U.S. [node:read-more:link]

23.7 GW of new U.S. electric generating capacity, mostly from wind, natural gas and solar, are expected in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) inventory of electric generators. In addition, EIA data shows 8 GW of primarily coal, nuclear and natural gas generation are expected to retire this year, though that number could increase as utilities continue to evaluate their generating portfolios. [node:read-more:link]

With billions of dollars in federal money on the line, state and local governments are budgeting hundreds of millions of dollars to convince their residents to respond to next year’s Census. [node:read-more:link]

If anyone in Canada is skeptical of how chickens are raised in the country should be able to consumer Canadian chicken with confidence after a recent transparency project from Chicken Farmers of Ontario. A group of Canadian food bloggers were invited to tour a broiler chicken farm in Ontario.In the video, which was posted about a month ago, a farmer named Jacqui, explained why she felt it was important to open up her farm, which appeared immaculate both inside and outside of the barns, to the visiting writers. [node:read-more:link]