Rummaging through your refrigerator, you come across a jar of mayonnaise labeled “BEST IF USED BY 06/10/19.” If it’s mid-July, are you risking illness by slathering it on your sandwich and eating it? It’s hard to say.Massachusetts and New Jersey are considering measures to clear up the confusion, following a California law that went into effect earlier this year. [node:read-more:link]
The number of dairy farms in the U.S. has been sharply declining, and now a U.S. Department of Agriculture report has revealed by just how much. According to the data, the U.S. lost 2,731 (6.5%) licensed dairy farms from 2017 to 2018. The total number of dairy farms is now at 37,468. [node:read-more:link]
Royal Dutch Shell became the first major oil and gas company to announce plans to leave a leading U.S. refining lobby due to disagreement on climate policies.In its first review of its association with 19 key industry groups, the company said it had found “material misalignment” over climate policy with the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) and would quit the body in 2020. [node:read-more:link]
The 2019 Federal Scrapie Regulation Revision means goats including slaughter goats and commercial goats that were previously exempted will need to be individually officially identified or group identified with a group lot ID with some exceptions. [node:read-more:link]
From the air, Lewis and Clark Lake along the Nebraska-South Dakota border appears immense as it stretches some 25 miles behind Gavins Point Dam.It would be logical to think of the sprawling lake — formed by damming the Missouri River — as a big deal in flood protection.It is formed by one of six massive dams on the Missouri River, all operated by the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
Spring flooding in the northern Plains and western Corn Belt will have a marginal impact on corn and soybean plantings, according to a USDA survey of growers and initial tallies of flooded land. With normal weather and yields, there would be limited impact on production of the two most widely grown U.S. crops, thanks to the huge amount of cropland nationwide. Farmers intend to plant a combined 177 million acres of corn and soybeans this spring, said USDA in its annual Prospective Plantings Report on Friday. [node:read-more:link]
Record flooding in the Midwest and Great Plains caused at least $3 billion in damage to the region, and more than one-third of the tally is from agriculture, according to officials. The states affected by the rapid snow melt and flooding include Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. [node:read-more:link]
Three-quarters of a million people would likely lose their food stamps later this year under a new proposal by the Trump administration. The goal is to encourage able-bodied adults to go to work and get off government aid. But opponents predict people would go hungry instead, if the rule goes into effect. A public comment period has so far drawn more than 28,000 comments overwhelmingly against the proposed rule.Those affected by the proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are known as able-bodied adults without dependents, or ABAWDs. [node:read-more:link]
House Ag Committee Chair Collin Peterson, Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, along with more than 70 Democratic and Republican colleagues wrote a letter last week to Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue. They’re asking the secretary to make implementing the dairy provisions in the new farm bill a high priority. The lawmakers are concerned about the continuing loss of dairy farms, as well as just how deficient previous dairy programs were in slowing those farm losses. Peterson and Thompson note that the 2018 Farm Bill can provide much-needed assistance to the nation’s struggling dairy farmers. [node:read-more:link]
Record flooding in the Midwest and Great Plains caused at least $3 billion in damage to the region, and more than one-third of the tally is from agriculture, according to officials. The states affected by the rapid snow melt and flooding include Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. More rain is forecast to hit portions of the Midwest into Saturday that could exacerbate flooding issues.A costly cleanup awaits the Farm Belt states as the flooded Mississippi River continues to recede. [node:read-more:link]
