While U.S. retail sales of farm tractors under 40HP in July declined 6.3 percent, the year-to-date total was up 9.8 percent compared to last year, according to the latest monthly data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the leading trade organization for off-road equipment manufacturers and suppliers. [node:read-more:link]
The Ninth Circuit scoffed Friday at the latest attempt by the Environmental Protection Agency to drag its heels on banning a dangerous pesticide. "EPA's nine-year delay in taking action was 'objectively extreme' when we received [the] petition for mandamus, and nothing has changed that would justify EPA's continued failure to respond to the pressing health concerns presented by chlorpyrifos," the 4-page order states. Chlorpyrifos, introduced in 1965, is widely used to control pests that threaten more than 60 crops including almonds, walnuts, oranges, cotton and grapes. [node:read-more:link]
The coal industry has been painted with a bleak brush in recent years. Production has plummeted. Plants have closed. Jobs have been lost. But in Delta County, one organization is targeting unemployed coal miners in the hope of transitioning them into the solar industry — and leaving politics out of the conversation. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment in April gave the Paonia-based solar organization a $401,000 matching grant as part of the WORK Act, legislation passed in May 2015 that aims to fill skills gaps in Colorado industries. [node:read-more:link]
Throughout his administration, as part of a push to connect the homeless population to services, Berry had taken to driving through the city to talk to panhandlers about their lives. His city’s poorest residents told him they didn’t want to be on the streets begging for money, but they didn’t know where else to go. Next month will be the first anniversary of Albuquerque’s There’s a Better Way program, which hires panhandlers for day jobs beautifying the city. [node:read-more:link]
The major concerns for California agriculture as an industry are water and workers. Most everybody seems to understand that. Phil Martin in the department of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Davis has clarified the issues and written a report that appears in the current issue of Update, his department’s bi-monthly newsletter. He forecasts warmer winters ahead as an important issue in the supply of water to irrigate crops. [node:read-more:link]
Thanks to participants in the Lionfish Challenge and Panhandle Pilot Program — both conducted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission — nearly 10,000 lionfish have been removed from Florida waters so far. Since the May 14 kickoff, 9,216 lionfish have been eradicated from the Gulf. Sixty-eight divers have entered the statewide Lionfish Challenge, which rewards divers for taking 50 or more lionfish. [node:read-more:link]
Canada is now allowing the use of certain chemical coccidiostats in products labeled as raised without the use of antibiotics. On August 5, the Canadian government agency released a communication explaining the change of its criteria for raising natural, naturally raised, feed, antibiotics and hormone claims in labelling or advertising for meat, poultry and fish products. [node:read-more:link]
With the extension of California’s landmark climate change law stalled, a legislative plan is emerging to significantly up the ante on California’s commitment to electric vehicles by requiring that 15 percent of all new automobiles be emission-free within a decade. Assemblywoman Autumn Burke, D-Los Angeles, told The Associated Press on Friday that she’ll introduce legislation next week to ramp up the pressure on carmakers. Automakers that fail to sell enough electric vehicles would be required to make payments to rivals that do or pay a fine to the state. [node:read-more:link]
The Wyoming legislature did something no other state has done, the concluded they owned the wind and with great efficiency for a conservative state not traditionally tilted toward burdening the energy industry, they did something no other state has done, before or since: They taxed it. In the four years since Wyoming began taxing power generated by wind turbines, it has collected a little less than $15 million in revenue. [node:read-more:link]
The North Dakota Department of Health is investigating an oil spill on a western North Dakota butte where oil is seeping out of a hillside. Karl Rockeman, director of the Division of Water Quality, said late Friday that oil was discovered to be seeping out of the hillside in multiple locations. The company has recovered 504 barrels, or 21,168 gallons, of oil and 120 barrels, or 5,040 gallons, of produced water from holes drilled into the subsurface of the site. The total size of the spill is still being determined. “It may be larger than that yet as well,” Rockeman said. [node:read-more:link]
