A U.S. fishing magnate known as The Codfather who pleaded guilty to evading fishing quotas and smuggling money to Portugal was sentenced on Monday to nearly four years in prison. Carlos Rafael, who owns one of the nation's largest commercial fishing operations, falsely claimed his vessels caught haddock or pollock when they had actually caught other species subject to stricter quotas, federal authorities said. He then sold the fish for cash, some of which was smuggled overseas.Rafael pleaded guilty in March to false labeling and fish identification and tax evasion, among other charges. [node:read-more:link]

North America is seeing an increasing number of "farm mega-homes," large estates built on agricultural land. Even if mansion owners are not farming on a large scale, some have the ability to receive hefty tax exemptions, a loophole that city councils are trying to regulate.The loss of agricultural land to housing development could have consequences in the future. Farmland in North America is not only facing threats from increasingly temperatures and prolonged droughts — but also from the rise of mansions.  [node:read-more:link]

Munoz's death, which occurred in the nearby town of Shelley last September, was one of two fatal accidents last year involving dairymen who either choked or drowned in pits of cow manure. Another laborer from Mexico died last month after he was crushed by a skid loader, used to move feed and manure. The deaths have rattled Idaho's dairy industry as well as local immigrant communities that do the bulk of the work producing nearly 15 billion pounds of milk annually on the industrial-sized farms in the state's southern prairie. [node:read-more:link]

China has delayed enforcing sweeping new controls on food imports following complaints by the United States, Europe and other trading partners that they would disrupt billions of dollars in trade. Rules requiring each food shipment to have an inspection certificate from a foreign government were due to take effect Sunday. But Beijing has decided to grant a transitional period of two years following comments by other governments, according to a document submitted to the World Trade Organization. [node:read-more:link]

It’s nothing new to read about animal rights extremistsremoving animals from a farm because they believe they are rescuing them from a life of mistreatment. But a group of young people from an organization called Denver Baby Animal Save have entered territory that is at least new to me.Not only did they apparently steal three chickens from a farm, but they also admitted to doing so with a post on Facebook. Sadly, they see what they did as noble. Fortunately, it appears most people disagree. [node:read-more:link]

Decades ago, the United States and Portugal both struggled with illicit drugs and took decisive action — in diametrically opposite directions. The U.S. cracked down vigorously, spending billions of dollars incarcerating drug users. In contrast, Portugal undertook a monumental experiment: It decriminalized the use of all drugs in 2001, even heroin and cocaine, and unleashed a major public health campaign to tackle addiction. Ever since in Portugal, drug addiction has been treated more as a medical challenge than as a criminal justice issue. [node:read-more:link]

The Environmental Protection Agency has not held up its end of an agreement with the livestock industry to develop methods for estimating airborne emissions, particularly odors, from farms, EPA’s Office of the Inspector General said in a report. The agreement, reached in 2005, was intended to provide livestock operations with guidelines for complying with the Clean Air Act and environmental emergency response rules. [node:read-more:link]

"[A]fter Monday’s reversal of support by the Leavenworth County commissioners, we will put our plans in your community on hold. [node:read-more:link]

Cereal maker Post Holdings announced it will acquire Bob Evans Farms Inc. in a $1.5 billion deal to gain a presence in the breakfast sausage category and strengthen its position overall in the higher-growth packaged foods market. [node:read-more:link]

Ontario is putting up C$5.3 million to help Conestoga Meat Packers boost productivity and expand its pork processing capacity by 86 percent, while creating 170 new jobs at the company’s Breslau plant, the provincial government announced today in a news release. Conestoga Meat Packers is Ontario's second-largest pork processor and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Progressive Pork Producers Co-operative Inc., a co-operative of 157 southwestern Ontario hog producers.  [node:read-more:link]