The 85th Legislative Session brought an amendment to the law related to use of unmanned aircraft in Texas.  Importantly for agriculture, the amendment adds confined animal feeding operations (“CAFOs”) to the list of “critical infrastructure” facilities to which additional flight limitations apply for many drone operators.  The amendment will go into effect on September 1, 2017. This post will review, in detail, the current Use of Unmanned Aircraft statute and discuss the most recent amendment. [node:read-more:link]

The National Pork Producers Council Tuesday expressed support for the No Regulation Without Representation Act of 2017. The legislation, introduced in the U.S. House by Wisconsin Republican James Sensenbrenner, would stop states from adopting laws and regulations that ban the sale of out-of-state products that do not meet their criteria. NPPC says that means the bill would prohibit a state from imposing tax or regulatory burdens on businesses, including pork operations, that are not physically present in the state. [node:read-more:link]

Crackdowns by federal immigration agents have made communities more hostile towards minority farm workers, according to a new report. Farm owners, meanwhile, fear they'll soon be unable to fill labor-intensive farming jobs that  Americans no longer want. [node:read-more:link]

Citing economic, food and national security concerns, a coalition of more than 100 agricultural organizations and allied industries groups urged Congress to include in the next Farm Bill language establishing and funding a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine bank. FMD is an infectious viral disease that affects cloven-hooved animals, including cattle, pigs and sheep; it is not a food safety or human health threat. [node:read-more:link]

recently passed bill will allow farm distilleries to sell New York state-labeled beer, wine and cider on their premises. Such facilities were previously only allowed to sell spirits on their properties, unlike breweries, cideries and wineries. The new bill amends a section of the state's alcohol laws to change that. [node:read-more:link]

In discussing the agricultural budget, it is easy to focus in on commodity support, nutrition, and environmental programs and ignore the cost of maintaining the agricultural research facilities that are at the heart of the work of the USDA. [node:read-more:link]

It is disappointing the media, political leaders and even commodity groups will not place a high emphasis on agriculture research. Buchanan’s book reviews the history of agriculture and the emergence of agricultural research. No book on research would be worth reading unless a chapter was devoted to the land grant system and its impact on agriculture research. Buchanan quotes himself, “The 1862 Morrill (Land-Grant) Act changed forever how higher education is perceived in this country. [node:read-more:link]

hode Island is considering a bill recently rejected by Maine that would allow owners the right to pursue noneconomic damages in civil lawsuits involving the inadvertent injury or death of a pet through medical care, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. This could mean the state's veterinarians could be liable for damages for pain and suffering, loss of companionship and punitive damages. [node:read-more:link]

Sara Lilygren, former Tyson Foods vice president of corporate affairs, says animal rights activists and the National Rifle Association use similar tactics to implement change. When it comes to implementing change, two distinctly different causes take similar avenues. [node:read-more:link]

 The use of elephants, primates, snakes and other wild animals by businesses that profit from their exhibition could be banned in a Maryland county outside Washington, D.C.WTOP-FM reports the Montgomery County Council held the first hearing on Tuesday about a proposal to ban the use of animals in circuses or other business that "exhibit or financially benefit" from them. The bill wouldn't apply to agricultural fairs where livestock is displayed.Humane Society of the United States vice president Nicole Paquette says the bill would focus on prohibiting the use of wildlife in traveling shows. [node:read-more:link]