The New York State legislature has unanimously passed a measure that calls for the setting of statewide targets for energy storage. The bills, SB 5190 and AB 6571, direct that state’s Public Service Commission to develop an Energy Storage Deployment Program, including a storage procurement target for 2030. If the bill is signed into law by Gov. [node:read-more:link]
A couple in Washington State recently filed a lawsuit against Wheeling, Illinois-based Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Company Inc., owned by Holly and Joel Sher, after one of their dogs was poisoned by pet food tainted with pentobarbital, a euthanasia drug. Nicole and Guy Mael of Washougal, Washington, filed the lawsuit against Evanger’s and Nutripack LLC, a pet food company owned by members of the same family, in US District Court for the Western District of Washington. The couple is seeking a jury trial and class-action status for their complaint. [node:read-more:link]
North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler on Thursday responded to recent criticism by state auditors who say his agency's inspectors aren't tough enough on dairies when handling out grades on their milk.According to an audit released Wednesday, inspectors rarely took action when they noted repeated violations. In one case, for example, the inspector marked violations of the same two requirements for six successive inspections without suspending the dairy's permit to market its milk as Grade A.Troxler mostly spoke about what he called "inaccuracies" in the audit. [node:read-more:link]
To be able to build those tools, they first need to be intimately familiar with the substance and the microorganisms that tend to contaminate it. They'll sequence and analyze the DNA and RNA of dairy samples from Cornell's farm, as well as of all the microorganisms in environments milk tends to make contact with, including the cows themselves, from the moment it's pumped. Their tests will characterize what's "normal" for raw milk, so the tools they make can easily tell if something's wrong even if it's an unknown contaminant we've never seen before. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture halted imports of fresh beef from Brazil on Thursday over recurring safety concerns about the products. Since March, USDA officials increased testing to cover "100% of all meat products" coming from Brazil, and turned away 11% of the country's fresh beef products, the USDA said in a statement. In total, the health officials have turned away 1.9 million pounds of Brazilian beef products over health concerns, sanitary conditions and animal health issues.According to the USDA, the rejected products never made it to grocery store shelves. [node:read-more:link]
A judge has ruled that counties can’t sue the State of Oregon for financial damages, potentially undermining a $1.4 billion class action lawsuit over state logging practices.Linn County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Murphy has reversed an earlier ruling in the case, which held that Oregon’s “sovereign immunity” doesn’t bar counties from seeking such damages.In his most recent June 20 decision, Murphy has agreed with Oregon’s attorneys that counties — as subdivisions of the state — cannot sue the state government for money.Murphy said he’s “well aware this interpretation contradicts” his earlie [node:read-more:link]
As part of its focus on sustainable food production, Tyson Foods announced in a press release that it has launched a broad, new animal well-being initiative that combines the latest technology with high-touch monitoring and training to improve the care of chickens. The company has implemented the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
Pet owners who leave their dogs or cats in a vehicle in extreme heat conditions are the targets of bills being considered by both the state House and Senate this session.House Bill 1236 relieves a police officer, humane society police officer or firefighter who enters a vehicle to rescue a dog or cat from any liability for damage caused by the rescue.The House bill mandates that the officer first “makes a reasonable effort to locate the person who owes a duty of care to the animal,” “acts under a reasonable belief that the animal is in severe physical distress” and “takes reasonable steps t [node:read-more:link]
The political divide between rural and urban America is more cultural than it is economic, rooted in rural residents’ deep misgivings about the nation’s rapidly changing demographics, their sense that Christianity is under siege and their perception that the federal government caters most to the needs of people in big cities, according to a wide-ranging poll that examines cultural attitudes across the United States. [node:read-more:link]
The winter/spring of 2017 did not see the financial shake-out many financial experts expected after three consecutive years of declining net farm income. In fact, lenders and other ag industry representatives at the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank's annual Ag Symposium last week were not wringing their hands -- yet. [node:read-more:link]
