Primus, a Florida police dog, is normally a spirited animal. But after assisting in a federal drug raid early one morning last month, he seemed out of sorts. "He wouldn't drink water. He would release his toy very easily. And he was looking lethargic, almost sedated," said Detective Andy Weiman, the head of dog training for the Broward County Sheriff's Office."We knew something was wrong."Primus was rushed to a local animal hospital. [node:read-more:link]

Rather than identifying specific dog breeds as dangerous, a Charlottetown veterinarian suggests that individual dogs must be evaluated on their behaviour.  The deadly mauling of a Quebec woman by a dog in June and a subsequent controversial ban on pit bulls in Montreal — which has since been suspended — have had Canadians talking about whether whether certain breeds are more dangerous than others. "You really can't pinpoint a particular breed," said Dr. Alice Crook, who will lead the discussion. [node:read-more:link]

Preserving Quad Cities and Clinton nuclear plants will save businesses and consumers in Illinois more than $3 billion in power costs in the next 10 years, a study conducted by global consulting firm The Brattle Group showed on Monday.  Exelon Corp, which owns the plants and plans to close them, has been trying to get the Illinois Legislature to adopt legislation, known as the Next Generation Energy Plan, that would provide a subsidy for nuclear reactors for their production and environmental and economic benefits.In June, Exelon said it would close the Clinton plant on June 1, 2017, and Qua [node:read-more:link]

The Georgia Court of Appeals has revived a long-running ratepayer lawsuit against Georgia Power over costs the utility wants to include in its rates to help pay for two nuclear reactors and power plant upgrades. If successful, the lawsuit could become class-action and refund ratepayers in excess of $150 million. [node:read-more:link]

In 2014, deaths among non-Hispanic whites exceeded births in more states than at any time in U.S. history. Seventeen states, home to 121 million residents or roughly 38 percent of the U.S. population, had more deaths than births among non-Hispanic whites (hereafter referred to as whites) in 2014, compared to just four in 2004. When births fail to keep pace with deaths, a region is said to have a “natural decrease” in population, which can only be offset by migration gains. [node:read-more:link]

Before former DFL state Rep. Doug Peterson retires from the presidency of the Minnesota Farmers Union at year’s end — and before the F (for Farmer) in DFL fades into oblivion — I invited him to offer a few pointers on how to keep this state from splitting into warring metro and rural political tribes. I’d barely landed in my seat when he started schooling me on his party’s failures in the Nov. 8 election.“The Democrats didn’t have a message for rural people!” an animated Peterson said. “They didn’t feel they had to come to the rural areas and talk to us! [node:read-more:link]

President Barack Obama appointed Dallas Tonsager to the position last week but the selection was announced today. Tonsager, who was appointed to the FCA board last year, replaces Kenneth Spearman, who has held the job since March 2015.  Tonsager is currently board chairman of Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation. He previously served on the boards of FCA and FCSIC from 2004 to 2009 during the George W. Bush administration.  Tonsager was also the USDA's under secretary for Rural Development during Obama's first term, but resigned that post in early 2013. [node:read-more:link]

Shortly after Republicans’ stunning Election Day sweep, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack grabbed Vice President Biden in a receiving line.  Vilsack had an urgent message, and he sensed that in Biden, he would find a receptive audience. The two politicians had served together throughout President Obama’s eight years in office and had known each other for decades. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. chicken producers including Tyson Foods Inc. and Sanderson Farms Inc. are being asked by the Georgia Department of Agriculture to meet new requirements for a price index as the agency makes changes amid concerns about the reliability of the benchmark.  The department is asking the companies and their representatives to submit affidavits and attestations declaring the price data they supply for the weekly so-called Georgia Dock index is accurate. The documents are due Tuesday, agency spokeswoman Julie McPeake said Monday. [node:read-more:link]

Georgia’s equine industry is anything but a pony show — it has a $2.5 billion annual impact on the state’s economy, according to the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Equine.  Further, horses are the No. 9 commodity in the state with a value of more than $333 million, or about $279.8 million more than those famous Georgia peaches. That’s according to the 2014 Farm Gate Value Reports from the University of Georgia. [node:read-more:link]