An acute need for more and easier access to mental health treatment and improvements in communications technology have set off a boom in remote therapy, but strict licensing rules and varying state laws are hampering its growth.  Like telehealth in general, using videoconferencing, smartphones and other technology to treat mental illness has long been recognized as an invaluable tool for getting care to people in rural areas, where shortages of psychiatrists, psychologists and other providers are even more acute than in the rest of the nation. [node:read-more:link]

Brazil's JBS SA will evaluate alternatives to unlock the company's value after shareholder BNDES Participações (BNDESPar) vetoed its corporate reorganization plans announced in May, global CEO Wesley Batista told analysts in conference calls. Batista did not detail what alternatives the company will consider. The world's largest meat processor previously considered listing its Brazilian poultry and processed foods unit Seara, and JBS USA as a strategic alternative. [node:read-more:link]

With low prices facing farmers as they harvest their 2016 crop, it is becoming clear that the counter-cyclical policies contained in the 2014 Farm Bill will not provide much protection for most producers. As a result, farm groups are beginning to look toward the next farm bill and the types of policies that might best protect farmers against low prices.  In last week’s column, we argued against direct payments, subsidized revenue insurance when crop prices are above the cost of production, and loan deficiency payments. [node:read-more:link]

If you’re running a large corn or soybean operation, you’re a lot more likely to be using precision agriculture practices and seeing results like increased operating profits — at least that’s what research by the USDA says.  The study, Farm Profits and Adoption of Precision Agriculture, focused on three precision agriculture practices: guidance or auto-steer systems, variable-rate technology (VRT), and GPS-based mapping systems. In the past 10 years, tractor guidance systems have gotten popular more quickly than variable-rate input application. Guidance is utilized on a whole 50% of U.S. [node:read-more:link]

More than two thirds of the world's wildlife could be gone by the end of the decade if action isn't taken soon, a new report from the World Wildlife Fund revealed.Since 1970, there has already been a 58% overall decline in the numbers of fish, mammals, birds and reptiles worldwide, according to the WWF's latest bi-annual Living Planet Index.If accurate, that means wildlife across the globe is vanishing at a rate of 2% a year. "This is definitely human impact, we're in the sixth mass extinction. [node:read-more:link]

Earlier this month, Wagoner County was rated as a D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks, triggering the Livestock Forage Program, County Executive Director for the USDA Wagoner County Farm Service Agency Mary Kunze reported.  The Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill) authorized the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) to provide compensation to eligible livestock producers who have suffered grazing losses for covered livestock on land that is native or improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover or is planted specifically for grazing. [node:read-more:link]

Are you a young farmer who aspires to commit your life’s work to pig farming, be a leader in farming and aims to be an example of excellence by raising pigs using the We CareSM ethical principles? If yes, then we want you to apply to be one of the U.S. Pork Industry’s Pig Farmers of Tomorrow.  The Pork Checkoff has established this new national award program to recognize, inspire and connect the next generation of American pig farmers. Up to three award recipients will be selected in the program’s inaugural year. [node:read-more:link]

No matter how much those in the poultry industry want it to, the phrase “hormone-free chicken” just doesn’t seem like it will go away.  But the problem is, the myth about hormone use in poultry production is at least partially being perpetuated by the companies that market poultry products.  General Mills, the parent company of soup maker Progresso, is one of those companies guilty of that. In September, General Mills issued a press release stating that it is “now using only 100 percent  antibiotic- and hormone-free chicken breasts in all of its 36 chicken soup varieities.” [node:read-more:link]

An agreement between the federal Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and Pennsylvania's nation-leading farmland preservation program will give the state access to millions of federal dollars to preserve the best and most threatened farmland. Pennsylvania has been without a cooperative agreement with the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

The battle lines are drawn over a lawsuit that could reshape agriculture in New York State. Civil rights advocates are suing to give farm workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. The state’s largest farm lobby has signed on in opposition, after Governor Cuomo wouldn’t. The case centers on an incident at a dairy farm in Lewis County. New York’s constitution guarantees every worker the right to organize. But a state law, the Employment Relations Act, excludes agricultural workers. [node:read-more:link]