A Kentucky milk processing plant is slated to close next month, resulting in the loss of 52 jobs.The Paducah Sun reports the general manager of the Prairie Farms Dairy plant, David Atchley, notified the Kentucky Division of Workforce and Employment Services on Tuesday. [node:read-more:link]
House Bill 199, also known as the "Wild Salmon Legacy Act" updates "Title 16, an older fish habitat protection and permitting law. According to the updated bill a broader definition of what constitutes salmon spawning environments, or "anadromous fish habitat" is the aspect of the legislation that is causing so much debate. [node:read-more:link]
Proposal would provide eligible landowners $50 per acre, each year, for farmland converted to water quality buffers. Governor Mark Dayton today thanked Republican legislators for supporting a tax credit to help alleviate the cost of compliance with state water quality requirements. The tax credit would provide eligible landowners $50 per acre, each year, for farmland converted to water quality buffers. [node:read-more:link]
Gina Stokes says she will keep fighting for her family’s dairy farm, where the cows have names, not numbers, and the land tugs at her heart. That’s a tall order these days for many farmers. Wisconsin lost 500 dairy farms in 2017, and about 150 have quit milking cows so far this year, putting the total number of milk-cow herds at around 7,600 — down 20 percent from five years ago. [node:read-more:link]
Several rural Illinois counties have taken a stand for gun rights by co-opting a word that conservatives associate with a liberal policy to skirt the law: sanctuary. At least five counties recently passed resolutions declaring themselves sanctuary counties for gun owners — a reference to so-called sanctuary cities such as Chicago that don't cooperate with aspects of federal immigration enforcement. [node:read-more:link]
Most issues look different from rural America, but that's especially true of net neutrality.No one doubts that net neutrality policies to keep the internet open and free for all users is vital. No internet provider or tech company should be allowed to block websites, censor or discriminate against viewpoints, manipulate cyberspace to shut out competition or otherwise interfere with our online experience.But for many activists and tech advocates in high-connectivity urban areas, that's all that net neutrality means. [node:read-more:link]
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway, R-Texas, introduced a draft Farm Bill that runs counter to what farmers need. The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), a program popular with Minnesota farmers, is proposed to be completely eliminated. CSP is the nation's largest farm conservation program, supporting clean water and environmental benefits while providing farmers with support to implement conservation practices. [node:read-more:link]
Reports indicate that a deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could be imminent, but dairy and other agricultural components remain outstanding. Negotiators from the U.S., Canada and Mexico continued to hammer out details of the nearly 20 outstanding chapters this week in hopes of finalizing a deal ahead of Mexico’s presidential elections this summer. [node:read-more:link]
Companies that produce plant-based meat substitutes or lab-grown products would be required to clearly note that their products do not contain meat under a bill approved by the Missouri House. The bill was approved 107-38 by the House on Thursday and now goes to the Senate for consideration. If it's approved, Missouri would be the first state in the country to address the issue. The proposal, part of an omnibus pro-agriculture bill, is supported by the state's pork producers, the Missouri Farm Bureau and the Missouri Cattlemen's Association. [node:read-more:link]
A new crop is ready to sprout on Illinois farms, with gleaming solar panels supplanting rows of corn and soybeans. Drawn by new state requirements and incentives, renewable energy developers are staking out turf on the rural fringes of the Chicago area and beyond, looking to build dozens of solar farms to feed the electric grids of Commonwealth Edison and other utilities. It’s a potential sea change in the Illinois energy landscape that proponents say is long overdue and will provide customers with a green power alternative. [node:read-more:link]
