Energy insiders see the emergence of new microgrid opportunities in Massachusetts from clean energy legislation passed last week and now awaiting the signature of Gov. Charlie Baker.An Act to Advance Clean Energy (H.4857) won unanimous Senate support and near-unanimous House support, with only one nay vote. [node:read-more:link]
On Wednesday, the Senate passed the minibus appropriations bill, which contains several important amendments addressing issues pertinent to agriculture. Besides funding for agriculture, the minibus also offers interior, financial and transportation funding. It also prohibits the closure of the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
A west central Indiana farmer and a member of Farmers for Free Trade says the $12 billion trade relief package is not a sustainable solution. Brent Bible grows corn, soybeans, and popcorn in Tippecanoe and Montgomery counties.“$12 billion is not going to bail out the financial inequities that have been created in the past 2-3 months,” he says. [node:read-more:link]
Farmland values have been resilient to low commodity prices, but an official with Farm Credit Services of America says the market is softening. Angie Treptow says Iowa farmland values increased slightly in 2017, and that momentum continued into this year.“The first six months of 2018 (farmland values) have slightly increased or stayed the same. But I will say in the last 30 days we’ve seen some sales that have taken place at auctions that have shown that maybe it’s going to soften a little bit.” [node:read-more:link]
Scientists have found conclusive evidence that Cas9, the most popular enzyme currently used in CRISPR gene editing, is less effective and precise than one of the lesser-used CRISPR proteins, Cas12a. Because Cas9 is more likely to edit the wrong part of a plant's or animal's genome, disrupting healthy functions, the scientists make the case that switching to Cas12a would lead to safer and more effective gene editing. [node:read-more:link]
Florida’s southwest coast, a ribbon of inlets and barrier islands normally brimming with wildlife, has become a red tide slaughterhouse this summer. Dead fish by the thousands have clogged inlets and canals. Since Sunday, 10 dead Goliath grouper, the massive reef fish that can live four decades or more, have floated to the surface. At least 90 sea turtles have been found stranded as the tide stretches well into nesting season. [node:read-more:link]
Nestle is facing a federal class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles alleging it sold products labeled as having "No GMO Ingredients" with genetically modified organisms. The corporate parent behind such food brands as Stouffer's frozen dinners, Buitoni pasta, and Haagen Dazs ice cream also is accused on designing a seal on its product packaging with the intention to trick consumers into thinking that its products were certified by the non-profit Non-GMO Project. [node:read-more:link]
According to USDA, prices for milk and dairy products for the remainder of 2018 are expected to be lower than previously forecast, due to downward price movements in recent weeks, high stock levels of cheese and whey, relatively weak growth in domestic use and expected impacts of tariffs imposed by China. For 2019, all price forecasts have been lowered except for butter. The Class III milk price forecast for August and September is from $14.70 to $15.70 per cwt. [node:read-more:link]
Calling it “unnecessary, unprecedented and unconstitutional,” the Murphy-Brown unit of Smithfield Foods is appealing a federal judge’s gag order related to the series of nuisance lawsuits filed against the hog producer in North Carolina, according to court documents. The gag order prevents anyone associated with the lawsuits, even neighbors, from speaking with a member of the press about the cases. More than two dozen such lawsuits have been filed against Smithfield in that state; the company has lost two of the cases so far. [node:read-more:link]
