Iowa’s overall energy situation is moving in a positive direction, although the state still consumes more than it produces at a per-capital rate higher than its six bordering states. Iowa consumes more raw energy than it produces and imports more raw energy than it produces. Electrical power generation has increased significantly, by nearly 40 percent, primarily because of expansion in wind production. [node:read-more:link]
Whole Foods Market says it's "America's Healthiest Grocery Store." Now, the grocery chain is looking to update its slogan to reflect a loftier moniker: "World's Healthiest Grocery Store." Unfortunately for the grocer's efforts, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently rejected its application to register that slogan. Whole Foods will have six months to update and refile the case and may choose not to do so, although that seems unlikely. [node:read-more:link]
Tests of wolves across North America suggest that there is just one species of the canid: the gray wolf. What's more, populations of red wolves and eastern wolves, thought to be distinct species, are actually just hybrids of gray wolves and coyotes that likely emerged in the last couple hundred years, the study found. [node:read-more:link]
SDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is contacting 25,000 farmers and ranchers now through August to take part in a national survey that will more accurately measure the environmental benefits associated with implementation and installation of conservation practices on agricultural land. The results of the National Resources Inventory Conservation Effects Assessment Project (NRI-CEAP) survey will help develop the science-based solutions for managing the agricultural landscape to improve environmental quality. [node:read-more:link]
urnt River School’s invitation to Portland students paid off, and the rural Eastern Oregon school will host up to eight urban kids when classes begin next fall, and eight more in the spring. “It’s happening,” Superintendent Lorrie Andrews said. The district is arranging places for the students to stay while in school. The school, which had a total of 34 students in 2015-16, offers the Burnt River Integrated Agriculture/Science Research Ranch program, or BRIARR, a dip into the ag and natural resource issues common to the area. [node:read-more:link]
The USDA confirmed the discovery of 22 genetically engineered wheat plants growing in a fallow agricultural field in Washington state. The wheat in question is resistant to the herbicide glyphosate, APHIS said. A farmer made the discovery. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the USDA has found no evidence of GE wheat in commerce. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. attorney for Idaho and the state attorney general announced they will not pursue charges against the two Adams County deputies who fatally shot rancher Jack Yantis. Following an investigation by the FBI, the U.S. attorney determined “there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against Adams County deputy sheriffs Cody Rowland and Brian Wood for the death of Jack Yantis.” After reviewing the results of an Idaho State Police investigation, the state attorney general’s office reached the same conclusion. [node:read-more:link]
A new study by university scientists seeks to foster rural acceptance of large carnivores by showing that cougars save lives by reducing the number of deadly collisions between vehicles and deer. Researchers affiliated with colleges in Washington, Idaho, Alaska and Alberta, Canada, compared data from 19 states in the East, South and Midwest. The scientists concluded that recolonizing cougars in those states would thin deer populations and prevent five traffic fatalities and more than 700 injuries a year. [node:read-more:link]
An Aurora organic farm is suing a co-founder of New Seasons and his son, saying they failed to stop their dairy cows from escaping and defecating on the farm's crops. The $210,000 lawsuit states that the cows belonging to Chuck Eggert and his son, Charlie Eggert, forced neighboring Simington Gardens to throw out its contaminated winter squash and leafy greens and shut down the field for 120 days because of the exposure to manure. The cows got out of a gated enclosure about midnight on April 16, 2014. [node:read-more:link]
U.S. and British officials announced an ambitious collaboration designed to accelerate the discovery and development of new antibiotics in the fight against one of the modern era’s greatest health threats: antibiotic resistance. CARB-X, for Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator, will create one of the world’s largest public-private partnerships focused on preclinical discovery and development of new antimicrobial products. The undertaking includes two agencies within the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
