The U.S. farm economy weakened further in the third quarter despite an upward revision to farm income projections. Following a brief rebound in crop prices in the second quarter, profit margins for crop producers deteriorated in August and September. Profit margins also remained poor in the cattle and dairy sectors. [node:read-more:link]
The Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO) announced on Sept. 19 that it will offer the first in a series of training courses to certify auditors to conduct the Common Swine Industry Audit (CSIA). The first two sessions are scheduled for Oct. 25-27 and Dec. 6-8 at the Univ. of Minnesota Southern Research Outreach center in Waseca, Minnesota. [node:read-more:link]
Gov. Scott Walker signed Assembly Bill 37 into law as 2015 WI Act 46. The legislation -- know as the School Food Safety Bill -- was one of SNA-WI's top legislative priorities this year and was pursued to help equip school nutrition professionals with the necessary tools to enhance food safety and reduce the risk of food borne illness in Wisconsin schools. As you know, all licensed restaurants in Wisconsin must be operated by an individual who holds a certificate of food protection practices issued by the state. [node:read-more:link]
For all the international furor over genetically modified food, or GMOs, the biotech industry has really only managed to put a few foreign genes into food crops. The first of these genes — actually, a small family of similar genes — came from a kind of bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt. Those genes make plants poisonous to certain insect pests. These genes are a pillar of the entire industry. But that pillar is wobbling. Three of the four Bt genes that are supposed to fend off one particularly important pest, the corn rootworm, are showing signs of failure. [node:read-more:link]
A dairy farm is taking advantage of the power of the sun. The Joseph Gallo Dairy Farm in Atwater unveiled Wednesday how they're reducing their carbon footprint. "It's not only good for the environment, and good for the community, it's good for business," said Peter Gallo, Dairy Farmer and Cheesemaker. The farm unveiled 7,800 new solar panels, moving closer to becoming a net zero energy dairy farm. "A dairy company needs to be both sustainable in economics and environmentally," said Gallo. [node:read-more:link]
It turns out that millennials, perhaps the most important generation in terms of retail sales, are big consumers of organic food and other products, according to new study results announced today by the Organic Trade Association. About 52 percent of household heads that buy organic food are millennials in the prized 18- to-34-year-old age group, the study concluded. “That's huge and it means we've got a good future ahead of us,” Organic Trade Association CEO Laura Batcha said today at the group's All Things Organic Conference in Baltimore. [node:read-more:link]
Ground zero in the fight against Zika is now at the National Institutes of Health in suburban Washington. NIH scientists are testing a vaccine that could prevent people from acquiring the virus. Trials of a similar vaccine successfully immunized monkeys. Good news, right? Apparently not. Earlier this month, at another NIH facility just 3 miles away, a different group of scientists gathered to debate whether it's appropriate to conduct medical research — like the kind that's delivered this promising Zika vaccine — in primates at all. The NIH workshop on Sept. [node:read-more:link]
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law a bill that allows Californians to rescue animals trapped in hot cars without fear of prosecution. The bill signed on Saturday lets citizens smash car windows to set the pets free as long as there is no other way to rescue them. That means rescuers can break into the car if the animal appears to be in peril, the car is locked and law enforcement is not arriving quickly enough. The rescuer must stay at the scene until law enforcement respond to the situation. [node:read-more:link]
This city, where the rate of drug overdose deaths is nearly 10 times the national average, has done more than most to fight the heroin and prescription painkiller epidemic. Local police have been diverting drug users to specialized drug courts for treatment. The city opened a syringe exchange program to reduce the spread of infectious diseases among drug users. [node:read-more:link]
Krista Sizemore's brain was crying out for heroin. But she knew she was pregnant. She knew her baby needed her to stay safe. She knew what could happen if she used again. She thought she'd been through it all, even overdosing once in her father's home. Sizemore, 26, called her mother, Kimberly Wright. "I knew I wasn't going to stop without help," Sizemore said. [node:read-more:link]
