USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is delaying the effective date of a new rule on organic livestock and poultry practices to comply with a Trump administration directive. The rule had been scheduled to go into effect March 20; the new date is May 19. Reince Priebus, President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, issued a memo Jan. 20 to federal agencies directing them to “temporarily postpone” for 60 days any regulations that had been published in the Federal Register but not yet taken effect. [node:read-more:link]

President Trump has returned trade policies and related taxes to the spotlight. The Trump administration floated the idea of a 20% border tax adjustment or a tariff on Mexican imports to have Mexico pay for the wall. This article looks further at the issue of border tax adjustments, tariffs and trade policies.  According to basic economic theory, a standard tariff is a tax applied to imported products and is therefore generally expected to increase their cost. Accordingly, much of the burden of a tariff would fall on US consumers. [node:read-more:link]

When the New York Farm Bureau released its 2017 priorities last week, the state's largest agricultural lobbying/trade organization painted a dire picture. New numbers just released by National Agricultural Statistics Service show the value of farm production in New York dropped by $1 billion in 2015 to $5.33 billion, NYFB stated in announcing its annual lobbying agenda. "That is a significant loss in farm income, and anecdotally Farm Bureau members are saying that farm income will likely drop even further when 2016 numbers are released," NYFB stated. [node:read-more:link]

Animal rights groups want to destroy animal agriculture, and the industry needs to be proactive to protect its future. Animal rights activists have changed their tune and their tactics to seem more mainstream and moderate in recent years, but their objective remains the same. Thompson-Weeman said the goal is dismantling animal agriculture by discouraging consumers to buy meat and farmers to raise animals. Those who doubt the credibility and prowess of the activists groups should look no further than the cage-free movement spurring chaos in the US egg industry. [node:read-more:link]

A HumaneWatch.org ad airing moments before Super Bowl kickoff ripped the Humane Society of the United States, mocking the group's emotional ads often featuring sickly animals in shelters. "Every day thousands of lawyers and lobbyists around the country find themselves out of work and unemployed," a woman says to scenes of lawyers in cages. These lawyers don't have a vacation home," the ad continues. "For just $19 a month you can join the Humane Society of the United States in our fight to hire more lawyers. People often think we run pet shelters but that simply isn't true. [node:read-more:link]

A deal will allow the mass slaughter of hundreds of wild bison migrating from Yellowstone National Park, while sparing 25 animals that American Indian tribes want to start new herds. It resulted from two weeks of intensive negotiations and removes a political obstacle for the park after Montana Gov. Steve Bullock on Jan. [node:read-more:link]

A federal appeals court revived a sweeping lawsuit accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of endangering scores of protected species by approving toxic pesticides without required consultation with wildlife officials. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed part of a lower court ruling in the 2011 suit against the EPA by two environmental groups, the Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America. [node:read-more:link]

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan may have the approval ratings. But the Democrats who control both houses of the state legislature have the votes.  Despite vigorous opposition from the popular Republican governor, the Maryland Senate voted 32 to 13 on Thursday to override Hogan’s veto of a bill to boost the state’s use of renewable energy. The House of Delegates voted to reverse the veto earlier this week. That means the measure — which requires Maryland to obtain 25 percent of its energy from wind, solar and other renewable sources by 2020, instead of ­20 percent by 2022 — will become law. [node:read-more:link]

the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced discontinued electronic access to inspection reports, annual reports and enforcement records from its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website known as the Animal Care Information System (ACIS). The move, which appears to have been made based on privacy concerns, has received criticism from animal welfare groups stating that the decision removes transparency related to how tax dollars are being used.   Foundation for Biomedical Research President, Matthew R. [node:read-more:link]

A bill approved by the Senate would allow state inspectors to carry out warrantless inspections of hundreds of Virginia produce farms to ensure compliance with federal regulations. “It’s one of those bills you don’t like, but someone’s got to carry it,” said the legislation’s sponsor, Sen. Richard Stuart, R-Westmoreland County. [node:read-more:link]