Federal regulators made final a rule Thursday overhauling how wind and solar power companies lease public land.  The rule from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) creates a competitive bidding process for the first time for renewable energy on federal land for oil, gas and coal companies use.  It also gives incentives for companies to put their wind turbines or solar panels in areas that do not conflict with wildlife, among other changes.  The rule is the first significant overhaul of wind and solar standards for federal land. [node:read-more:link]

The number of midsize growers in the U.S. has dropped slightly but the category hasn’t experienced as much change as other farm sizes, according to USDA.  Farms in the midsize category, with roughly $350,000 to $1 million in annual revenue, declined in number by 5 percent between 1992 and 2012, according to a recent USDA study.  To compare, large farms with more than $1 million in revenue more than doubled in number, while small commercial farms — those with revenues between $10,000 and $350,000 — declined in number by 22 percent. [node:read-more:link]

The latest in a crop of apps designed to address the issue of food waste connects restaurants that have excess & leftover food with people looking to save money on prepared foods. It comes from Food for All, which is currently operating as a pilot project with 30-some restaurants in Cambridge, MA, and which is looking to scale up its venture to both Boston and New York City next year. [node:read-more:link]

The US Dept. of Agriculture announced several meetings to gather feedback from industry on the Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) program in addition to current livestock and meat marketing practices. The first meeting is scheduled for Nov. 15-16 in Washington.  The first informational meeting will include several activities. The Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) will provide an overview of current LMR reporting and audit processes. Industry stakeholders also will be able to participate in “interest-based problem-solving and training” and identify dates for future meetings. [node:read-more:link]

John Price is a Louisiana rancher. But instead of hooves and horns, his livestock have scales and claws, and sometimes they put their food into what's known as a "death roll."  That didn’t seem to faze Price on a sunny October afternoon as he threw open the door to one of the low-slung barns where his animals live, even as he pointed to the scars on his arms and hands he's gotten from them. [node:read-more:link]

The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, has concluded his second successful mission to China where he helped secure new export opportunities for Canadian agricultural producers and processors.  Over the 10-day mission, Minister MacAulay and a delegation of over 100 Canadian industry representatives from all 10 provinces visited the cities of Qingdao, Beijing and Shanghai. Meetings were held with Chinese ministers, agriculture and agri-food businesses and exporters. [node:read-more:link]

Expiration dates on food products are proof food doesn't last. In several days, or even hours, bread goes moldy, apple slices turn brown, and bacteria begins to multiply in mayonnaise. Yet, these foods are still found on the shelves at grocery stores thanks to preservatives, but what exactly are they, and are they good or bad for our health? Preservatives work by preventing both types of deterioration. Artificial preservatives like butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), nitrates, and benzoic acid, are all used by food manufacturers to slow maturation or spoilage. [node:read-more:link]

A Florida county has cleared the way for the first U.S. test using genetically modified mosquitoes to fight against the species that spreads Zika virus.  Monroe County, Florida, voted to allow a test of GMO mosquitoes created by the British biotech company Oxitec. Oxitec has created genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, adding genes to the same insects that transmit Zika virus. The GMO variety passes on genetic traits to their offspring that cause them to die in the wild, dramatically reducing the overall population of the mosquitoes. [node:read-more:link]

With Donald J. Trump as the president-elect, meat analysts and lobbyists are anticipating rough seas for exports, on which a growing number of meat processors depend to thrive or even survive. [node:read-more:link]