In a special election Tuesday, voters in Toledo said yes to a ballot measure that amends the city charter to include a Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR). With about 8.9 percent turnout of eligible voters, the ordinance was approved by just over 61 percent. According to the unofficial vote count from the Lucas County Board of Elections, over 16,200 ballots were cast. The vote is a victory for Toledoans for Safe Water, a grassroots organization that, for months, collected signatures, campaigned, and fought in the Ohio Supreme Court to get the issue on Tuesday’s special election ballot. [node:read-more:link]

The PLC (Price Loss Coverage) program option makes payments only if MYA (marketing year average) price is below ERP.  Thus, a key program decision factor is the relationship between a covered commodity’s expected MYA price and ERP.  Assuming a simple forecast that 2019 MYA price is the currently projected 2018 MYA price, expected 2019 MYA price ranges from 23% under ERP for long-grain rice to 51% above ERP for sesame seed (see Figure 1, Appendix Table 1, and Data Note 1).  Corn, soybean, and wheat MYA price is 4% under, 2% over, and 6% under ERP, respectively, as of March 2018.  Only 1 othe [node:read-more:link]

As the left hardens its commitment to fighting climate change, social injustice, and rampant capitalism, the question of what to do about animals will become inescapable. [node:read-more:link]

On March 27, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued a draft revised guidance for industry (GFI) #120, “Veterinary Feed Directive Regulation Questions & Answers.” FDA said the guidance is intended to aid industry in complying with the requirements of the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) final rule published in June 2015 and serves as a "Small Entity Compliance Guide."The document is organized to help address the needs of all parties involved with a VFD order: veterinarians, VFD feed distributors (e.g., feed mills) and clients (owners or other caretakers of the animals).  [node:read-more:link]

Josh Link, a Pennsylvania native, found his home in Alaska's veterinary community. Link will be one of the first to graduate from a 2+2 program that connects the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in May. He plans to return to Fairbanks as a general practitioner. "I joke that one of my professors gave me a sled dog and that was the bait, and I took it," Link said. [node:read-more:link]

A young dog imported from South Korea into western Canada last October brought along a dangerous hitchhiker: the Asia-1 strain of canine distemper virus (CDV), which until then had not been reported in North America. Scientists at Cornell’s Animal Health Diagnostic Center (AHDC) identified the virus in samples from the dog, which they suspect was part of a shipment of animals rescued from a Korean meat market by an animal welfare organization. [node:read-more:link]

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) launched an investigation into syndicated conservation easements, the tax-advantaged land deals that have already drawn scrutiny from the IRS and the Justice Department. [node:read-more:link]

A federal judge has ruled that grazing should be allowed to continue on four allotments in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. [node:read-more:link]

Most Washington dairy farmers don’t brand cows and aren’t in the mood to pay more to support a brand program, an industry representative told lawmakers, complicating a last-ditch push to save the program aimed at marketing cattle and deterring rustlers. Other cattle groups endorsed a plan to raise fees to fund inspections by the state Department of Agriculture of cattle changing owners. Washington State Dairy Federation policy director Jay Gordon said recent meetings with members revealed strong opposition.“We got our ears bent pretty hard,” he said. [node:read-more:link]

Oregon lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday to fund a new program that would provide state grants for projects to protect and conserve farmland. [node:read-more:link]