Farm sector net cash income is expected to decline 35 percent between 2013 and 2016, following several years of record highs—though it will remain near its recent 10-year average.  Starting in the late 1990s, the median household income for farm households has exceeded the median income of all U.S. households; in 2015, farm households had a median total household income of $76,735, a third greater than that of all U.S. households but less than that of U.S. households with a self-employed head. [node:read-more:link]

Cooked poultry is considered to be a processed food item, so it is excluded from country of origin labeling requirements which would apply to raw chicken. This means that U.S. consumers will not know they are consuming chicken grown and processed in China. Restaurants also are excluded from country of origin labeling, so the cooked poultry could be sold to restaurants without consumers knowing. The first Chinese exporter did not specify the name brand that its cooked chicken is being sold under. The key issue is cost competitiveness. [node:read-more:link]

By publishing anything claiming to have a whiff of scientific basis, assigning it a nefarious headline and relinquishing responsibility to verify its legitimacy, media counter their own noble pursuit by contributing to consumer confusion instead of being a beacon of clear, reliable information.“Carcinogenic pesticide found in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream” and “Chemical in mac and cheese tied to birth defects” are among the latest alarming headlines.Often, media outlets hungry for content and short on staff simply post news releases verbatim – no scrutiny applied – from an author, company, ad [node:read-more:link]

DuPont announced it will buy Granular Inc. software company for $300 million. This agreement will solidify the company’s investment in the ag tech space and is expected to close at the end of the third quarter. The acquisition gives DuPont ownership of Granular’s Farm Management Software and AcreValue.com that together serve 250 farms on two million acres in the U.S. as well as farms in Canada and Australia. [node:read-more:link]

A doctor’s appointment, particularly with a specialist, can mean long hours of driving and sitting in waiting rooms. But a new telemedicine program through the Butler Health System in western Pennsylvania is giving patients more free time and less wait time. Telemedicine visits — where patients meet with doctors via a computer video connection instead of in person — allow patients to cut down on the lost time by staying closer to home. [node:read-more:link]

 Monsanto Company has forged an agreement with ToolGen, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in genome editing, to use ToolGen’s CRISPR technology platform to develop agricultural products. The companies announced Aug. 16 that they have reached a global licensing agreement for Monsanto to access ToolGen’s suite of CRISPR intellectual property for use in plants. [node:read-more:link]

As proponents of new broiler welfare programs continue to push for changes in broiler production techniques and smaller, slower-growing breeds, cases are being made that birds in modern production are not as healthy or mobile as they should be.Broiler health and mortality rates: The thought that modern breeds of broilers are not as healthy and experience higher-than necessary mortality rates is not necessarily accurate, Jones said. [node:read-more:link]

The spread of influenza among pigs is common at fairs and other gatherings, and protective measures including cutting the length of time pigs and people congregate make good sense for both the animals and humans, say the authors of a new study. A team led by Andrew Bowman of The Ohio State University tracked human cases of H3N2 swine virus associated with seven agricultural fairs in 2016. They tallied 18 cases in Ohio and Michigan documented after exposure to flu-infected pigs. [node:read-more:link]

A tiny insect, barely visible to the naked eye, is killing marsh cane at an alarming rate and threatening to undo nearly a decade of coastal restoration and land-building in the delicate Mississippi River delta. The Roseau cane mealy bug, also known as a Phragmites scale, was first discovered on some of the marsh reeds of Plaquemines Parish last summer. [node:read-more:link]

Four years ago, the Illinois legislature passed a law to regulate high volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, after months of contentious negotiations between oil industry interests, environmental watchdogs and community groups. [node:read-more:link]