The overall number of farmers in the U.S. has been shrinking steadily, but the number of tenant farmers age 25 to 44 climbed almost 9 percent from 2007 to 2012, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) census. In California, the country’s leading agricultural producer, it rose 22 percent; in Washington and Oregon, it was up 9 percent and 11 percent, respectively.  Many of the new tenant farmers identify with the locally grown food movement and are cultivating high-value organic produce. U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Matt Tracy and his partner, Catherine Mardosa, have experienced all the difficulties of farming in Rhode Island. There has been drought (still is), floods (the historic 2010 deluge), the ever-present challenge of finding agricultural space in a land-strapped state, and the high fixed costs of machinery, equipment and fuel. [node:read-more:link]

In a study on false memories, Dr Kimberley Wade in the Department of Psychology demonstrates that if we are told about a completely fictitious event from our lives, and repeatedly imagine that event occurring, almost half of us would accept that it did. [node:read-more:link]

If you live in rural Ohio, you're more likely than city dwellers to own your home, be a military veteran and be married, the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows. On the other hand, urban residents' homes are worth more, and they are more likely to have a college degree and internet access. [node:read-more:link]

USDA’s Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule now is pending at the White House Office of Management and Budget, the last step in the rulemaking process before it becomes final. The National Pork Producers Council is urging the USDA to withdraw the rule, or if it’s approved before Jan. 20, the Trump USDA to repeal it. [node:read-more:link]

Salmonella and Campylobacter prevalence in US retail chicken continues to decline according to the 2014 Integrated National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) report released by the US Food and Drug Administration. [node:read-more:link]

They look like normal black-and-white Holstein cows, a common sight in Western Iowa. But these cows are special: used not for their milk or meat, but for their blood. They’re plasma donors, and one day, the life they save may be your own. The cows were genetically engineered by biotech company SAB Biotherapeutics to produce human antibodies, proteins that fight pathogens. These antibodies could one day treat infectious diseases like Ebola, influenza, and Zika — and their potential to address global outbreaks was recognized this summer by the World Health Organization. [node:read-more:link]

Matt McKendree, 29, orders a burger, as does everyone else at the table after a morning of penning and deworming cows. "In 20 years, I don't think there will be any real cattle operations around here," says the seventh-generation cattle rancher and father of two young boys. "There won't be enough land." It has been a long time since farmers and ranchers could turn their spreads of land into big moneymakers. Many of them, like McKendree, have little faith that their children will be able to scrape together a living if they stick with the family business. [node:read-more:link]

Rep. Judy Boyle, a Republican rancher from Midvale, has been selected to chair the House Agricultural Affairs Committee.  She is one of 11 current or retired farmers or ranchers who will chair House and Senate committees in the Idaho Legislature when the 2017 session starts in January.Boyle, who is in her fifth term in the legislature and has been named one of the 100 most influential people in Idaho, said her predecessor, Ken Andrus, set a high bar. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service received a request (APHIS Petition 15-300-01p) from The Scotts Company LLC of Marysville, OH and Monsanto Company of St. Louis, MO seeking a determination of nonregulated status for ASR368 creeping bentgrass that has been engineered to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. When APHIS receives a petition for nonregulated status of an article currently regulated under its PPA authority codified in 7 CFR part 340, the Agency is required to make a decision. [node:read-more:link]