In New York state, it's the law that working police dogs injured in the line of duty must be transported to the nearest veterinarian in an ambulance. The law to authorize paramedics to transport injured police dogs to appropriate facilities was sponsored by State Senator David J. Valesky and passed during the 2015-2016 Legislative Session. [node:read-more:link]
Half of private sector employees don’t have access to a workplace retirement savings plan, but by next year several states expect to have new plans up and running. Washington state is anticipating an early 2017 start date for its Small Business Retirement Marketplace, where financial services firms will offer low-cost plans to businesses with less than 100 employees, including solo business owners. The Marketplace will be voluntary for employers—and employees. [node:read-more:link]
Governor Charlie Baker signed an executive order directing state officials to develop regulations for specific, annual reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by next summer. The order comes on the heels of a court ruling that the state has not done enough to meet its obligations under the state’s 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act, which requires Massachusetts to cut its greenhouse gases 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. [node:read-more:link]
The 27 states challenging Obama’s Clean Power Plan in court say the lower emissions levels it would impose are an undue burden. But most are likely to hit them anyway. Already, Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Dakota appear to be meeting the CPP's early targets. And changes in the power market, along with policies favoring clean generation, are propelling most of the rest toward timely compliance, according to researchers, power producers and officials, as well as government filings reviewed by Reuters. We are seeing reductions earlier than we ever expected,” U.S. [node:read-more:link]
The National List of Reportable Animal Diseases (NLRAD) was created through a deliberative process led by the United States Animal Health Association/American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians’ Committee on Animal Health Surveillance and Information Systems and the National Animal Health Reporting System Steering Committee. The paper proposes a single, standardized list of reportable animal diseases, and outlines who will be responsible for reporting, and describes how diseases are to be reported. [node:read-more:link]
It’s no secret that Millennials are changing the food and nutrition landscape, but Baby Boomers have their own set of unique ideas about what they want on their plate. [node:read-more:link]
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced new USDA initiatives to strengthen outreach and education resources at the local level to combat the rural opioid epidemic, including an expanded series of state-led opioid awareness events and increased access to information in USDA local offices. The effort begins on Monday, Sept. 19, coinciding with President Obama's designated Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week from Sept. [node:read-more:link]
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association is looking to have a say in a lawsuit seeking to force disclosure of records that USDA gathered in an audit of the beef checkoff program. NCBA filed a motion to intervene this week in the case originally brought in 2014 by the Organization for Competitive Markets with the help of attorneys from the Humane Society of the United States. [node:read-more:link]
Another year of bumper crops and high inventories are likely to spell another year of lower prices for corn, soybean and wheat growers, and alternately keep some feed costs in check for livestock producers. Ag economists at Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture laid out what grain growers are facing in a crop outlook webinar on Sept. 13 based on USDA’s latest crop estimates and world supply and demand report. The wheat crop is expected to bring record yields of 52.6 per acre, although lower acreage won’t bring record production. [node:read-more:link]
Recently, the EPA released a draft Ecological Risk Assessment on atrazine, a popular herbicide used for weed control in growing the vast majority of corn, sorghum and sugarcane in the United States. Unfortunately, the federal agency is refusing to follow the law. Instead of using sound science in today’s review process, political activism is driving the re-registration of atrazine. According to the latest assessment, EPA is recommending aquatic life level of concern (LOC) be set at 3.4 parts per billion (ppb) on a 60-day average. The EPA’s current LOC for atrazine is 10 ppb. [node:read-more:link]
