The number of parents permanently losing their rights to a child has grown significantly in Tennessee, a Tennessean analysis found.  Between 2010 and 2014 (the most recent year data is available), there was a 51 percent increase in the number of parents who have had their relationship legally and permanently severed from a child.  In the same time period, the number of children in Tennessee waiting to be adopted increased by 56 percent. [node:read-more:link]

Maryland's horse industry hasn't recovered fully from years of decline but has regained its footing and is generating more than $1 billion a year — 23 percent more than in 2010, a study released Monday found.  The study, conducted by the Sage Policy Group, said the industry's nascent rebound appears to be accelerating.  "The last five years have represented a stark contrast from the prior three decades when Maryland's horse industry was in decline," said the study, paid for by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and a dozen other industry partners.  The study, released at Goucher Colleg [node:read-more:link]

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced more than 35 premises in Alberta and Saskatchewan are under investigation and movement controls in connection to a bovine tuberculosis case from late September.  CFIA stated that, as of Nov. 23, there have been six confirmed cases of bovine TB, including the original cow from Alberta that was confirmed with the disease by USDA when the cow was slaughtered in the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Higher prescription drug prices, combined with changes to Medicare and Social Security, could deal a $1.6 billion blow to state budgets next year by forcing them to ratchet up spending on Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor.  Without congressional intervention, most state Medicaid agencies will have to come up with tens of millions of dollars to cover the bill.  The new costs could prompt states to tighten eligibility requirements or cut benefits. [node:read-more:link]

Salting roads and pavements during winter damages frog populations by turning would-be females into males, a major new study warns.  Naturally occurring chemicals used in de-icing substances find their way into ponds, where the amphibians breed, and change the sex of young frogs during early development. Experts at Yale University found that gritting can reduce the number of female frogs by 10 per cent in a given area, as well as harming the quality of their eggs and size of their offspring. [node:read-more:link]

A Trump administration and new leadership of the Senate’s environment committee may breathe new life into efforts to roll back the Environmental Protection Agency’s renewable fuel standard, lawmakers and advocates say.  House members are continuing to build momentum around bipartisan legislation (H.R. 5180) to limit EPA ethanol requirements in total transportation fuel at 9.7 percent. Opponents of the mandate also are happy about the likely selection of Sen. [node:read-more:link]

Six states lacked the legal right to challenge a California law that prohibits the sale off eggs from chickens that are not raised in accordance with strict space requirements, a federal appeals court said Thursday.  The states – Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kentucky and Iowa – failed to show how the law would affect them and not just individual egg farmers, a unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The court upheld a lower court decision that dismissed the lawsuit. [node:read-more:link]

Animal agriculture – farmers, ranchers, veterinarians, feed mills and animal health companies – is dedicated to providing a safe and healthful food supply for everyone. That dedication starts on the farm with ensuring livestock and poultry are also healthy.  As part of that commitment, the animal agriculture community is currently working to implement significant changes in the way antibiotics are used. [node:read-more:link]

Survey Results at a Glance: • For a 14th straight month, the Rural Mainstreet Index fell below growth neutral. • Overall index slumps to lowest level since April 2009. • Bank CEOs project more than one in five farmers with negative 2016 cash flows. • More than one in four bank CEOs expect rising regulatory costs to be the biggest challenge to their bank operations over the next 5 years. • Gains reported for Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota while losses were recorded for Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Wyoming. [node:read-more:link]