Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing more than $300 million to help hundreds of small businesses across the country save money on their energy costs by adopting renewable sources or implementing more efficient energy options. Vilsack made the announcement at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, today during a meeting with several local business owners who will make use of these loans and grants. [node:read-more:link]

The insurer Cigna will no longer require  pre-authorization for prescriptions to treat opioid addiction under the terms of a national settlement announced late Thursday by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.  Doctors and patients complain that while it may be common to require doctors to get prior approval for other prescriptions, a delay in getting medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for heroin addiction can be deadly, as addicts can easily relapse and overdose. While pre-authorizations should just take hours, it can often take days if there are problems with the paperwork. [node:read-more:link]

A glut of U.S. pork at a time when Chinese imports are slowing will pressure global pork prices in the months ahead, Rabobank said in its latest quarterly pork report.  “Prospects for 2017 are weak, with global trade expected to stabilize and all main producers in expansion mode, making supply discipline key to the outlook," Rabobank animal protein analyst Albert Vernooij said. [node:read-more:link]

A local tax incentive package totaling some $2.3 million over the next six years will help Mountaire Farms reopen and possibly expand a former Townsends chicken processing plant in Siler City, N.C. The Chatham County board of commissioners approved about $1.5 million in the form of a property tax refund, and the Siler City town council also approved a property tax incentive worth about $800,000. [node:read-more:link]

The state's utility regulator is planning to spend more money on energy projects in rural Wisconsin, including a plan to help underwrite the use of systems that convert cattle manure into electricity.  The state Public Service Commission voted on Thursday to authorize at least $7.7 million in funding for rebates for solar, wind and geothermal projects around the state that would keep in place a rebate program for energy consumers. The program, Focus on Energy, provided $8.5 million in rebates over the past two years. [node:read-more:link]

Community solar’s dilemma is described in the old saying that a giraffe is a horse designed by a committee.  Community solar was supposed to be the “promised land” where utilities, solar advocates, and environmentalists could forget bickering over net energy metering (NEM) and fight together for economically-viable clean energy. [node:read-more:link]

The wind resource in Iowa is so productive and the cost of wind energy has been falling so precipitously that the value of wind now far exceeds its cost there, according to an industry study released this week.  The analysis, conducted by the American Wind Energy Association at the request of the non-profit Wind Energy Foundation, also claims that doubling the state’s installed wind capacity would lower the cost of power so much that the typical residential customer’s monthly bill would fall, possibly by as much as $10. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the availability of a streamlined version of USDA guaranteed loans, which are tailored for smaller scale farms and urban producers. The program, called EZ Guarantee Loans, uses a simplified application process to help beginning, small, underserved and family farmers and ranchers apply for loans of up to $100,000 from USDA-approved lenders to purchase farmland or finance agricultural operations. [node:read-more:link]

The USDA has announced it will invest up to $7 million in grants for projects designed to expand wood products and wood energy markets that support sustainable forest management, especially in areas with high wildfire risk. The grants will be made available in through the U.S. Forest Service’s Wood Innovations Program.  According to the request for proposals (RFP) published to the Wood Education and Resource Center website, proposals must be submitted by Jan. 23. [node:read-more:link]

Environmental groups head to court today to challenge a Federal Court ruling which upheld the government's earlier approval of genetically modified salmon.  "This whole approval process has taken place behind doors. There's been no engagement of Canadians on the subject should we genetically modifying animals for food'," argued Karen Wristen, of B.C.'s Living Oceans Society, one of the groups involved in the challenge.  In 2013, Environment Canada approved the production of genetically modified salmon eggs by the biotechnology company AquaBounty in a facility in P.E.I. [node:read-more:link]