More than 300 thoroughbred horse breeders who have been awaiting award payments since February will soon see those payments restored after Governor Tom Wolf signed reforms to the state’s Breeding Fund, according to Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding.  Among other things, House Bill 2303, now Act 115, which was sponsored by state Representative Martin Causer, fixes an unintended consequence of the equine racing industry reforms enacted in February 2016 that changed the criteria for payments under the state Breeding Fund award program. [node:read-more:link]

Most Texas landowners are aware of the special use valuation methods available to agricultural landowners that allow property taxes to be calculated based on productive agricultural value, as opposed to market value of the land.  Importantly, this is not a “tax exemption,” for agricultural landowners, but instead is an alternative way to calculate property taxes owed. [node:read-more:link]

A global ban on genetically modified crops would raise food prices and add the equivalent of nearly a billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, a study by researchers from Purdue University shows.  Using a model to assess the economic and environmental value of GMO crops, agricultural economists found that replacing GMO corn, soybeans and cotton with conventionally bred varieties worldwide would cause a 0.27 to 2.2 percent increase in food costs, depending on the region, with poorer countries hit hardest. According to the study, published Oct. [node:read-more:link]

It wasn’t long ago when a Wisconsin farmer stood a better chance of rolling a 300, or perfect, game in bowling than producing a corn crop with a yield of 300 bushels per acre. The odds have changed in favor of the 300-bushel yield this year, thanks to a near-perfect growing season that has experts predicting record corn and soybean yields throughout much of the state, including Dane County. “I would imagine we’ll get to 300 this year by somebody around here, and I think it’s that good that we’ll get it. [node:read-more:link]

In Florida, the competing sides on just one November ballot question — about controlling solar power production in the state — already have raised $23.65 million to try to sway the state’s voters.  That amount pales in comparison to the $313 million raised so far to influence the outcomes of referendums in California, which routinely leads the nation in the number of issues on the ballot and money raised and spent on them. But it’s strikingly more than what’s been spent in the Sunshine State in the past. [node:read-more:link]

The nation’s drug-addiction epidemic is driving a dramatic increase in the number of children entering foster care, forcing many states to take urgent steps to care for neglected children.  Several states, such as New Hampshire and Vermont, have either changed laws to make it possible to pull children out of homes where parents are addicted, or have made room in the budget to hire more social workers to deal with the emerging crisis.  Other states, such as Alaska, Kansas and Ohio, have issued emergency pleas for more people to become foster parents and take neglected children, many of them [node:read-more:link]

Newly released survey results comparing consumer attitudes in the two largest beef-producing countries – the U.S. and Brazil – have revealed several important trends in purchasing preferences that are influenced by how beef animals are raised and fed.  Cargill's "Feed for Thought" survey of more than 2,000 people in the U.S. and Brazil found that the majority of U.S. consumers (54%) and Brazilian consumers (69%) are more likely to purchase beef raised without antibiotics. [node:read-more:link]

The parents might bring home the bacon, but it’s probably the kids who pick the brand. Children have a disproportionate sway over household grocery purchases and decisions — and food marketers know it. [node:read-more:link]

A Chickasaw County, Iowa, pig farmer has erected what could be the most energy-efficient and environmentally sound hog building in Iowa. Dale Reicks of Reicks View Farms has built a unique hog building that doesn't look like most other modern hog barns, and what's inside confirms that it isn’t. The facility is equipped with all of the newest technology available in pig farming and is uniquely designed to be animal friendly, environmentally friendly and neighbor friendly. [node:read-more:link]

More of today's consumers crave information about food and how it's produced, but the latest consumer trust research from The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) found that most want even more. [node:read-more:link]