Cargill has announced it will exit from its U.S. cattle feeding business. The move means that in the last year, the company has gone for the fourth-largest feeder in the U.S., to completely leaving the sector. Cargill has reached an agreement to sell its last two feed yards to Green Plains Inc., which will purchase the feed yards for $36.7 million.  Cargill’s withdrawal from the feeding business highlights a change in priorities at the company, which says it is the world’s largest supplier of ground beef, according to Reuters. [node:read-more:link]

The success and viability of farm businesses depend to a certain extent on the quality and quantity of the labor force. Promoting a healthy workforce is a priority for U.S. agriculture because hired labor is an essential production input, accounting for the third largest production expense (Kandel, 2008). Recruiting and retaining farm workers, however, has usually presented a difficult challenge for farm businesses given high physical demands, heavy workloads, and relatively lower wages in the agricultural sector (Luo and Escalante, 2017a). [node:read-more:link]

Eight million unauthorized foreigners are part of the U.S. labor force, and at least a million are employed primarily in agriculture. It cannot be a surprise, therefore, to learn that the Trump administration’s plans for a wall on the Mexico-U.S. border, increased deportations, and punishment of “sanctuary cities” that refuse to cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be disruptive to American agriculture. [node:read-more:link]

A $330 million package will expand broadband access and digital literacy to communities deprived of a reliable internet connection, thanks to Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Solano.  Assembly Bill 1665, joint-authored by several bipartisan Assemblymembers, including Aguiar-Curry, Eduardo Garcia, D – Coachella and Brian Dahle, R – Bieber, passed out of the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee with a 12-0 vote.“People don’t start businesses in areas where they can’t even send an email,” Aguiar-Curry said. [node:read-more:link]

Those Wisconsin dairy cows at the center of another trade kettle now boiling between the United States and Canada, a friend suggests, aren’t really black-and-white Holsteins.They’re tiny, yellow canaries, he opines, and their tweets—not President Donald J. Trump’s—are a warning that America’s reign as the world’s ag export superpower is fading and U.S. farmers and ranchers are ill-prepared for what comes next. [node:read-more:link]

usinesses selling marijuana in states where it is legal just got some reassurance from Congress that they don’t have to worry about a federal crackdown anytime soon. The spending bill that will keep the government open until September includes the extension of a policy that prohibits the Department of Justice from using federal money to interfere with states’ medical marijuana laws.

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Lawmakers Friday tentatively agreed to defund the state's main land conservation program to free up money for a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee to curb discharges, and other legislative priorities. On the chopping block is Florida Forever, which acquires land for trails, natural spaces and conservation areas. That's not final until the Legislature passes a state budget by the May 5 end of session, and things still could change, state Sen. Rob Bradley said. [node:read-more:link]

Just days before they might have had to close, most of the Wisconsin dairy farms caught up in a trade dispute with Canada have found buyers for their milk, enabling them to stay in business. At risk had been some 58 farms ranging in size from 80 to 3,000 cows. There’s also a “Plan B” in the works, said Gefvert, of Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation. No details have been released, and the plan is only tentative. [node:read-more:link]

A press release from UI detailed the study’s findings, which ranked the top seven specific on-farm practices in consumers’ purchasing decisions, including: 1. Animals were not administered growth hormones.
2. Genetically modified organisms were not used in the production of this product (non-GMO). 3. Animals were humanely raised.4. Animals were not administered antibiotics.5. Animals were raised in a free-range (or cage-free) environment.6. Animals were grass-fed (or raised on a vegetarian diet).
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At the end of a long gravel road in East College Station, the world's first cloned cat -- now 15 years old -- lives in what longtime Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science researcher Duane Kraemer describes affectionately as a "kitty barn." CC, also known as Copy Cat, was born in December 2001, the result of the 87th attempt at cloning a cat by Kraemer's lab at Texas A&M after several years of trying.Kraemer, who recently retired from the university, said the success was simply the product of his team's work in pushing the boundaries of what is possible to accomplish. [node:read-more:link]