Penn State researchers have found that eggs from small flocks of chickens are more likely to be contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis than eggs sold in grocery stores, which typically come from larger flocks.  That conclusion was drawn from a six-month study done last year in Pennsylvania. Researchers from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences collected and tested more than 6,000 eggs from more than 200 selling points across the state for the study. [node:read-more:link]

Researchers at the University of Wyoming say a vast number of trees killed by a bark beetle population that is rapidly expanding due to higher temperatures could be sustainably co-fired in coal plants. [node:read-more:link]

For Clements and a growing population of the most vulnerable — the elderly, disabled and uninsured — access to health care is becoming an increasingly urgent issue. The West’s rural areas, as data from the American Medical Association and U.S. Census Bureau show, are simultaneously experiencing a higher demand for services and a decrease in the number of doctors and others qualified to provide those services. In the most extreme examples, some Western counties have seen their elderly populations increase by nearly 60 percent. [node:read-more:link]

Every minute counts during a stroke. Blood-thinning drugs and surgery can prevent traumatic brain injury, but doctors must act fast: A life-saving procedure called a clot retrieval, for instance, is only effective within about eight hours of a stroke’s onset.  A drug called tPA, which dissolves stroke-inducing blood clots, must start acting within about four hours. Moreover, a wrong move can be deadly when treating a stroke patient. Few rural emergency room doctors are trained to confidently make such high-stakes calls. [node:read-more:link]

According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, the United States is home to 2,109,303 farms. The Census defines a farm as any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, in the reference year. The distribution of farms across Congressional districts (114thCongress) is shown in Figure 1. As expected, farms are heavily concentrated in the Great Plains, Midwest, and Mississippi Delta regions.  As we discussed previously, the traditional farm coalition is comprised of three major commodities: corn, cotton, and wheat. [node:read-more:link]

This document is a “Statement of Principles”(link is external) to inform the public how federal law applies to activities associated with industrial hemp that is grown and cultivated in accordance with Section 7606. The term “industrial hemp” includes the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part or derivative of such plant, including seeds of such plant, whether growing or not, that is used exclusively for industrial purposes (fiber and seed) with a tetrahydrocannabinols concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. [node:read-more:link]

Understanding the current era of US economic malaise lies, at least in part, with the most basic of American enterprises - the production and marketing of food.   A historical, even defining feature of economic growth has been a decline in the share of expenditures that consumers devote to food and food services (hereafter food). However, since 2002 for the US, Engel's Law, so named for the economist who first observed it, has not held. Real inflation adjusted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased by 27%, but the share of consumer expenditures spent on food has flat-lined at 11.8%. [node:read-more:link]

Glyphosate is likely not carcinogenic to humans, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says, again, in an issue paper posted to a federal regulatory website.  The paper's release comes ahead of a scientific advisory panel meeting scheduled to run from Oct. 18 to Oct. 21 in Washington, D.C.  The paper, titled "Glyphosate Issue Paper: Evaluation of Carcinogenic Potential," is a 227-page document outlining the voluminous studies examined by EPA to this point on the cancer-causing potential of the herbicide. [node:read-more:link]

More than ever, consumers care about not only where their food comes from, but how and under what conditions the animals in the food system are raised. A 2013 American Humane Association poll showed 89 percent of consumers surveyed stated they were very concerned about animal welfare with 74 percent willing to pay more for humanely raised meat, dairy and eggs. Participants of the survey also ranked humanely raised food the highest in importance over organic, natural and antibiotic-free. [node:read-more:link]