Ever since the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl started showing up in the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Growth in milk production in the major exporting regions is expected to slow to a trickle in the first half of 2019 to less than 0.5 percent, bringing some recovery in milk prices.But there’s a lot of uncertainty in world markets, according to Rabobank analysts.“I think we’re going to be better than ’18, which is no great shakes, but I don’t think we’re going to be as high as we were in ’17. Rabobank is forecasting no more than a $1 per hundredweight increase in the Class III milk price, bringing the average in 2019 to $15.55, she said. [node:read-more:link]

All told, wolves killed at least five calves and one guard dog, a Tibetan Mastiff, at the ranch in 2018. The pack was also blamed for killing four calves in neighboring Klamath County in October, and at least one heifer at another ranch northeast of Medford, Ore., in November. "It's just been the same old story," Birdseye said during a recent interview. "It's not a good situation."The Rogue pack was started by OR-7, the famous "wandering wolf" that traveled from northeast Oregon to California before finding a mate in the southern Oregon Cascades. [node:read-more:link]

A 90-day pause on the Trump administration's plan to hike tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods in January may delay higher consumer costs for everything from tires to galoshes, but the US petrochemical industry remains among the top targets of tariffs already in place and there is no obvious end in sight.Petrochemical-heavy 25% tariffs the US imposed on Chinese goods in August are not part of the temporary trade detente reached by US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in early December at the G-20 Summit in Argentina.The two leaders agreed the US would hold off on r [node:read-more:link]

With 638 Wisconsin farms shut down in 2018, it is no secret the state is battling a dairy crisis. A joint effort between the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and the University of Wisconsin system, the task force’s goal is to ensure a successful and profitable future for the industry, much like the first dairy task force tried to do in 1985. The new proposals, passed December 13, hinge on state funding. [node:read-more:link]

Idaho farm income plummeted for a second consecutive year in 2018, due largely to overproduction by the state’s dairy producers. Idaho’s net farm income has continued on a prolonged downward spiral and also dropped about 27 percent in 2017 from the prior year.“It’s the fifth year that’s declined in net farm income. It’s pretty rough,” Eborn said. “Farmers are making 40 percent of what they were making in 2011. [node:read-more:link]

2018 is on track for the worst year-on-year growth in domestic milk production since 2013, according to a new report from Rabobank. Prospects don’t look much better for 2019 as the industry continues to grapple with overproduction, tariffs and volatile market dynamics. Despite increases in consumer spending, retail dairy sales have mostly declined. The hardship is in part due to a dramatic oversupply that has forced prices down and left dairy manufacturers reeling. Nevertheless, U.S. milk solids exports were up 18% across the board. Trade disputes have provoked shifts in the market. [node:read-more:link]

Rural communities face clear economic and environmental risks from a changing climate, according to the 2018 National Climate Assessment.   The report documents changes in the timing of seasons, temperature fluctuations, increased incidence of extreme weather and change in rainfall – all patterns with the potential disrupt rural economic activities.  Climate change in rural communities poses an outsized risk to the national economy, the report says. [node:read-more:link]

Farmer Bruce Buchanan was so elated with Donald Trump's October vow to allow higher sales of corn-based ethanol that he carved a huge thank-you note in his Indiana cornfield. Now, though, the president's actions have him worried. The government shutdown that Trump says could last "a long time" without funding for a border wall may hurt farmers by delaying the administration's ability to steer through the approval for year-round sales of a 15 percent ethanol blend for gasoline before the summer begins. That's up from 10 percent allowed now.The increased sales would certainly be helpful. [node:read-more:link]