Three weeks after the scientific world marked the 20th anniversary of the birth of Dolly the sheep, new research has shown that four clones derived from the same cell line -- genomic copies of Dolly -- reached their 8th birthdays in good health. [node:read-more:link]

We live in a society where many people tend to gravitate toward “black and white thinking” and extremes. The health and wellness industries are fraught with examples of extremism in many forms. Everyday a new headline pronounces a certain food as “bad and ruining our health,” while exalting another food and praising it’s “amazing benefits.”  These lists of proclaimed “superfoods” and “harmful foods” seem to change on a weekly basis- leading many people to be confused as to the mixed messages they are receiving. [node:read-more:link]

Preserving and improving global food security smartly creates economic opportunity here by alleviating poverty overseas. Recently Congress passed and President Obama recently signed into law the Global Food Security Act which authorizes U.S. efforts on international agricultural development. While it seems increasingly difficult, but important, to find areas of bipartisan support, we applaud Congress for acknowledging the problems of global hunger and coming together to solve those problems. [node:read-more:link]

Farmers in Nebraska, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and New York are staging something of a mechanical revolt. They're attempting to get legislation passed in their states that would enable them, for the first time since the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, to repair their own tractors or get an independent mechanic to help. At the root of the morass is the software that helps run modern tractors and their sensors, diagnostic tools, and other high-tech elements. [node:read-more:link]

I feel bad for the USDA. Congress has just assigned them the thankless task of overseeing a compromise law on GMO labeling.  The compromise was possible even for our fractious political system because the alternative was to allow the state of Vermont to demand a food labeling, segregation and tracking system that would severely disrupt the national food system. That was a clear-cut violation of the interstate commerce protections in the Constitution, but it would have taken years to be resolved in the courts. [node:read-more:link]

A lawsuit has been filed against the City of Fremont in Nebraska, which is being accused of allegedly blighting farmland illegally for tax incentive financing (TIF) for a proposed poultry plant. Three members of the citizens group Nebraska Communities United (NCU) filed the suit, alleging that Nebraska law does not provide for blighting large portions of agricultural land for the use of TIF money, and that the disputed area must be urban or suburban, and not rural. The city earlier annexed and blighted nearly 1,000 acres for the proposed plant. [node:read-more:link]

In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook released today, the U.S. Energy Information Administration maintained its outlook for ethanol production and demand for this year.  EIA reiterated ethanol production averaged almost 970,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2015 and once again projected production for 2016 and 2017 at about 980,000 bpd.  The agency repeated that ethanol consumption in 2015 averaged about 910,000 bpd, while holding firm its forecast for 2016 and 2017 to about 930,000 bpd. [node:read-more:link]

Over 450 cyclists set out on a farm-to-table bicycle ride through Central Vermont, stopping at nine local farms to refuel with chef-prepared food made with ingredients from the farms. The event, Farm to Fork Fondo – Vermont, is a recreational ride that draws athletes of all abilities. [node:read-more:link]

The genetic tweaks don’t significantly affect color and may preserve flavor, according to a new study. In an attempt to produce plump, tasty tomatoes with longer shelf lives, scientists have successfully tweaked a gene that slows how quickly the fruits soften without affecting their size or color. The genetically modified tomatoes, described in a paper published Monday in the journal Nature Biotechnology, didn’t show telltale signs of softening, like pruned skin, 14 days after harvesting, compared with wrinkled ones from normal plants. [node:read-more:link]

Farms that market their goods directly to consumers tend to create more jobs in their own regions than those that don’t, a university study has found.  For every $1 million worth of output, farms that sell directly via farmers’ markets, produce stands, community-supported agriculture and other such outlets generated nearly 32 jobs in the Sacramento area, according to the study led by University of California-Davis researcher Shermaine Hardesty. [node:read-more:link]