The state question, known as the Right to Farm bill, would have established a constitutional right for farmers and ranchers to engage in farming and ranching practices, it failed 58-41. [node:read-more:link]

Agriculture’s water economy has demonstrated growing signs of strain. Recent and persistent extreme weather-related events have highlighted the vulnerability of food and agricultural production to substantial variations in water availability. Consistent water availability is critical to agricultural production everywhere, and intensifying scarcity presents global agriculture with a formidable long-term challenge. Agricultural production has evolved, to a significant extent, on the basis of available water resources, both surface water and groundwater. [node:read-more:link]

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is investigating an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in Southeast Alberta, Canada.  The investigation began after inspectors with the US Dept. of Agriculture identified a case of bovine TB in a cow from Alberta that was exported and slaughtered in the United States. USDA notified CFIA about the detection in late September. [node:read-more:link]

The US Dept. of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on Sept. 30 issued an updated compliance guideline on documentation required to support animal-raising claims that must be submitted before the claims may be used on product labels. Examples of such claims include “raised without antibiotics,” “organic,” “grass-fed,” “free-range,” and “raised without the use of hormones,” among others currently in use or that may be used in the future.  The FSIS previously issued a compliance guideline on animal-raising claims in 2002. [node:read-more:link]

Nebraska officials helped load the first shipment of U.S. beef destined for Israel since a 13-year-old ban was lifted. WR Reserve of Hastings, Neb., is currently the only Israeli-approved kosher beef facility in the United States and plans a $4.5 million expansion, adding 100 jobs, as it prepares to serve that market, Nebraska Lt. Gov. Mike Foley announced.  [node:read-more:link]

Food service companies Aramark and Compass Group USA, in conjunction with the Humane Society of the United States and Compassion in World Farming, yesterday announced separate sourcing plans for their future supplies of broiler chicken. Aramark is asking its suppliers to take the following actions by 2024, or sooner if possible: Transitioning to strains of birds that measurably improve welfare issues associated with fast growth rates per Global Animal Partnership’s (GAP) standards; Reducing maximum stocking density to equal to/less than 6 lbs./sq. ft. [node:read-more:link]

While the USDA indemnity programs may help compensate North Carolina poultry farmers for the birds they lost in flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew in October, those programs will not cover property damages.  Bob Etheridge, North Carolina state director for the USDA Farm Service Agency, noted that some farmers may not have had insurance on buildings and equipment damaged or lost to flooding, which adds to their difficulties. There are also significant expenses involved in storm clean-up and decontamination procedures. [node:read-more:link]

It may sound like science fiction, but wastewater treatment plants across the United States may one day turn ordinary sewage into biocrude oil, thanks to new research. The technology, hydrothermal liquefaction, mimics the geological conditions Earth uses to create crude oil, using high pressure and temperature to achieve in minutes something that takes Mother Nature millions of years. [node:read-more:link]

For wildlife in Oregon, the best way to stay alive is to make sure someone wants to kill you.  If the state can make money selling a fishing license or a hunting tag for an animal, it goes to great lengths to keep populations healthy.  Teams of biologists collar hundreds of mule deer with tracking devices that cost almost $1,000 each. State police fly planes over wilderness in the dead of night searching for poachers. In one recent four-year span, Oregon spent upwards of $37 million to improve habitat for mule deer. [node:read-more:link]

This year, Grassroots Solar announced partnerships with SunPower, a leading U.S. rooftop solar company, and sonnenBatterie, a German storage company, allowing Laberge to provide his customers with both solar technology and innovative battery backup — and he’s also capitalizing on a Vermont’s push for consumers to use cold-climate heat pumps and switch to electric cars. “We just did a system for a couple who only required 24 panels to cover their current needs, but [who knew they’d] eventually put in cold-climate heat pumps and electric cars,’’ Laberge said. [node:read-more:link]