Canada's chicken farmers operate under the country's supply management system, which limits domestic production and imports to ensure level prices for farmers.  However, some importers are getting around the rules by importing broiler chicken meat labelled as spent fowl meat (meat producing from old laying hens). Chicken coming into Canada is subject to import controls, and spent fowl is not – there is no limit on how much can be imported.  The Duties Relief Program enables qualified companies to import goods without paying duties, as long as they later export the goods. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Lillian Salerno today announced three new public-private partnerships that will create economic opportunities in Elgin, Texas; Fresno, Calif.; and Chicago. [node:read-more:link]

The restrictive laws have taken hold so far in states that have relatively small agriculture industries for animals and animal products and fewer large-scale farming operations. But producers in big farming states see the writing on the wall. Backed by state farm bureaus, large-scale industrial farmers are pushing for changes that would make it harder for states to further regulate the way they do business.  North Dakota and Missouri adopted amendments in the last few years that enshrined into their constitutions the right of farmers and ranchers to use current practices and technology. [node:read-more:link]

The future of the RFS remains in question. Though President-elect Donald Trump pledged support for the RFS during the primary campaign, the direction of his U.S. Environmental Protection Agency remains an open question.  Oil industry interests and others have called for RFS reform or repeal. [node:read-more:link]

The federal Renewable Fuel Standard will fall far short of the goals laid out by Congress, government watchdogs said Monday, dealing another blow to  the embattled program and giving more ammunition to critics who say it must be ended immediately. Government Accountability Office reports say the Renewable Fuel Standard, enacted by lawmakers in 2007, has been crippled by higher-than-expected costs of producing ethanol and other biofuels and by the boom in U.S. oil and gas production, which has made fossil fuels far more competitive in the marketplace. [node:read-more:link]

The state has announced more than $3.9 million in grant awards to 13 communities to protect over 900 acres of land through the local acquisitions through the Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity (LAND) Grant Program.  The grant program seeks to address climate change and protect biodiversity within the borders of the Commonwealth. [node:read-more:link]

In this series of columns, we have argued that a) governmental farm program programs are necessary because of the inability of aggregate agriculture on both the supply and demand sides to adjust to low prices in the short-to-medium run, b) current farm programs are ineffective in dealing with the price/income problems that result from extended periods of low prices, c) current farm programs are more expensive than alternative policies that treat the cause of these low price periods, and d) a government supply management program that puts the relatively small amount of a crop that is in exce [node:read-more:link]

Texas health authorities said Monday that a Brownsville woman is infected with Zika, a case that could make the south Texas city the second place in the continental United States where the mosquito-borne virus is spreading locally. Laboratory testing confirmed that the 43-year-old patient, who is not pregnant, had been infected. State and local health authorities said she reported no recent travel to any location with ongoing Zika transmission and no other risk factors. [node:read-more:link]

Gov. John Hickenlooper is proposing “aggressive” new efforts to address homelessness in Colorado, returning to an issue that helped launch his political career. The governor’s budget request for fiscal year 2017-2018 asks lawmakers to put $12.3 million in annual marijuana tax revenues toward building new housing units for people who experience chronic and episodic homelessness. His plan also includes another $6 million a year for housing for low-income residents and others with behavioral health needs. [node:read-more:link]

On Nov. 21, 2016, EPA won an important case for American farmers. EPA defended farmers’ rights to plant seeds coated with neonicotinoids – a class of insecticides that kill insects by affecting central nervous system. Coated seeds will continue to be exempt from EPA regulation under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act because of this court case.  The Center for Food Safety, American Bird Conservancy, Pesticide Action Network North America, and Pollinator Stewardship Council sued EPA claiming it failed to enforce FIFRA regarding seeds planted by American farmers. [node:read-more:link]