An architect of anti-immigration efforts who says he is advising President-elect Donald Trump said the new administration could push ahead rapidly on construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall without seeking immediate congressional approval.  Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who helped write tough immigration laws in Arizona and elsewhere, said in an interview that Trump's policy advisers had also discussed drafting a proposal for his consideration to reinstate a registry for immigrants from Muslim countries.  Kobach, who media reports say is a key member of Trump's transition team, s [node:read-more:link]

Organic and non-GMO sales in the U.S. amount to chicken feed, but that chicken feed is increasingly imported because U.S. farmers aren't in a position to fill demand for certified organic or even non-GMO feed.  The gap between supply and demand in organic and non-GMO feed markets offers an opportunity for farmers, but price takers aren't jumping to join the marketing wave. Premiums are also there for non-GMO crops, but they are significantly lower than organic and harder to predict. Regional factors play more into that. [node:read-more:link]

Canada’s softwood lumber and livestock producers are being targeted by Donald Trump’s transition team, which is advising the president-elect to extract terms more favourable to the United States in these areas in a renegotiation of the North American free-trade agreement. The head of Canada’s largest business group says a transition team memo obtained by CNN suggests Washington is about to embark on an “aggressive, protectionist approach to trade both with Mexico and with Canada.” The memo says on the first day he takes office – Jan. [node:read-more:link]

Harvest 2016 isn't officially over, but already predictions of a fourth and fifth consecutive year of grim commodity prices in 2017 and 2018 are putting a damper on agricultural lenders' attitudes. Those attending the American Banker Association conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, this week described attitudes anywhere from relative calm in parts of the Corn Belt to severe distress in cotton and cattle country. [node:read-more:link]

The Kansas Department of Transportation has indefinitely postponed 24 road projects in the face of the state’s budget shortfall.  The department said Monday that 14 projects estimated to cost $32 million had been postponed. It said Tuesday that number was incorrect and should be 24. The overall cost is the same.  KDOT had planned to put the projects up for bid in December but decided to postpone them after it was announced last week that the state faces a $350 million budget gap.

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New Jersey is on its way to becoming the first state in the country to ban veterinarians from declawing cats. A bill that cleared an Assembly committee on Monday would add onychetomy — the medical term for declawing — to the list of criminal animal cruelty offenses. There would be exceptions for medical purposes. Veterinarians caught declawing a cat and people who seek them out would face a fine of up to $1,000 or six months in jail. Violators would also face a civil penalty of $500 to $2,000, according to the bill (A3899). [node:read-more:link]

Under myriad pressures, an increasing number of rural hospitals are either shutting their doors or joining up with large systems. Some, though, continue to do quite well as independents.  Scores of rural hospitals around the country have closed in the last six years, but Southeastern Health’s 452-bed main facility and 30 primary care and specialty clinics remain open. That gives Langley the ability to focus on local care. The challenges to viability are many. According to the University of North Carolina’s Cecil G. [node:read-more:link]

Microbiologists have discovered that red squirrels in Britain and Ireland carry the two bacterial species that cause leprosy in humans. [node:read-more:link]

The global ag industry’s ability to feed a ballooning population may hinge on whether or not crop varieties created through genome editing and other new plant breeding innovations will fall under domestic and international regulations put in place for GMOs. [node:read-more:link]

Idaho agriculture employs more than 40 percent of all of Idaho’s undocumented immigrants. Idaho’s dairy industry is eager to see immigration reform and “certainty” in U.S. policy, said Idaho Dairymen’s Association Executive Director Bob Naerebout.

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