The federal government shutdown — caused in part by disagreements over immigration policy — is delaying immigration court hearings across the country. Court appointments scheduled during the shutdown will be "reset" to new dates in the future, per a notice from the Department of Justice dated Dec. 26. The only exception are courts operating in immigration detention centers, where federal immigration authorities hold immigrants pending deportation. [node:read-more:link]

While funding for agricultural commodity programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program captures most of the attention during the development of and wrangling over the budget for the farm bill, this column is focused on the funding for agricultural research that is primarily carried out through the Land-Grant University and College system. The Hatch Act of 1887 was approved by Congress to provide funding for the establishment of agricultural experiment stations by each of the state land-grant institutions. The initial focus was focused on soil fertility and plant growth. [node:read-more:link]

The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour has remained the same since 2009. Since then, 29 states and the District of Columbia have set minimum wages above the federal level. Twenty states have minimum wage increases taking effect around the start of the new year. [node:read-more:link]

t's more a question of "Where did the chicken cross the road?" At least, that is the question state transportation and wildlife officials hope to answer when they compile and release stats on roadkill in an effort to make sure animals get to the other side.Every year, the Colorado Department of Transportation releases a report on the number, type and location of every animal that did not survive its foray onto the highway. [node:read-more:link]

They'd been on our planet for millions of years, but 2018 was the year several species officially vanished forever.  Three bird species went extinct this year, scientists said, two of which are songbirds from northeastern Brazil: The Cryptic Treehunter (Cichlocolaptes mazarbarnetti) and Alagoas Foliage-gleaner (Philydor novaesi), according to a report from the conservation group BirdLife International. According to BirdLife, the other extinct bird is Hawaii's Po'ouli (Melamprosops phaeosoma), which has not been seen in the wild since 2004 (the same year the last captive bird died). [node:read-more:link]

The executive director of Farmers for Free Trade says he is hopeful farmers will see trade progress in the new year. Brian Kuehl says the recent trade truce with China is a start…“We’d like to see the trade war with China wrapped up,” he says. “We need to get back into the business of trading- China’s our biggest trading partner.”But, he tells Brownfield the tariffs on Canada and Mexico still need to be addressed.“We still have these steel tariffs in place which means they’re still retaliating against our agricultural products- cheese, pork, and processed foods,” he says. [node:read-more:link]

It was a crisis more than 60 years in the making. The Umatilla Basin in northeast Oregon is home to some of the state’s most productive farmland, famously growing more than 200 different crops including wheat, corn, potatoes and watermelon. Irrigation pivots dominate the countryside, transforming scrubby desert into lush, green fields.The development of the region’s farms and cities, however, came at a price underground. As early as 1958, regulators began to see groundwater declines in the Butter Creek area of Umatilla and Morrow counties. [node:read-more:link]

The farm bill's hemp provision opens up production of a plant that can be used for food and animal bedding, as well as to make cloth, high-protein feed, fuel and plastics that are biodegradable, said Christopher Disbro, the Iowa Hemp Association's board president. For example, North Face and Patagonia already use hemp fiber in their winter gear. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa on Wednesday struck down the Iowa Ag-Gag law, holding that the ban on undercover investigations at factory farms and slaughterhouses violates the First Amendment.Iowa’s Ag-Gag law criminalizes undercover investigations at a broad range of animal facilities including factory farms, puppy mills, and slaughterhouses, preventing advocates from exposing animal cruelty and environmental, workers’ rights, and food safety violations. [node:read-more:link]

President Donald Trump said he has ordered FEMA to withhold funds from California’s state government until officials there “get their act together” fighting forest fires. But he tweeted he thinks that is “unlikely.” [node:read-more:link]