Cargill is selling its two Texas cattle feedlots as it continues to redefine its protein businesses. It is Cargill’s latest in a series of divestments in businesses with low margins, specifically those in meat. A year ago, Cargill sold its entire pork business to JBS USA Pork for $1.45 billion, a deal that combined two of the country’s largest pork processors. [node:read-more:link]
An animal welfare group says it found abuses at a Kinston poultry plant in the months preceding a new law that now deters the exposure of farm and other workplace conditions. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals contends the abuses occurred at the Sanderson Farms poultry plant. The organization says it planted an employee there during the three months last year leading up to the law going into effect on Jan. 1. The company says it investigated after learning of the allegations from PETA in February, but found no evidence that any abuses had occurred.
The survey says farmland values are down about 9% from where they were last year. That number may change a bit as we wrap things up, but in order to get that thing to not be negative would be a real surprise, so I think the direction is pretty clear that we’re adjusting to the lower income environment, the lower price environment, the lowered expectations about what prices are going to be in the future. [node:read-more:link]
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) has updated its Margin Protection Program (MPP) website -futurefordairy.com– with new materials to assist dairy producers considering enrollment in the third year of the federal dairy safety net program. The enrollment period officially opened July 1 and ends Sept. 30, 2016, for coverage in calendar year 2017. Farmers already participating in the program can change their coverage level during this three-month enrollment window. [node:read-more:link]
Researchers linked ERS's food availability data with food intake survey data to break down national food and vegetable consumption trends by age, gender, education level, income, and race/ethnic background. They found that declines in fruit and vegetable consumption—driven by falling consumption of orange juice, potatoes and head lettuce—have been steeper for some demographic groups than for others. [node:read-more:link]
A regular update of agricultur law cases around the country. [node:read-more:link]
VIlsack declares the week of August 7-13 as National Farmers Market Week. [node:read-more:link]
The Dog Lover is a suspenseful and provocative drama based on true events. Sara Gold is a rising star at the United Animal Protection Agency (UAPA), a major animal rights organization that conducts animal rescues and lobbies for better animal welfare laws. Handpicked for a major assignment, Sara goes undercover as a college intern to infiltrate a suspected “puppy mill” run by the enigmatic Daniel Holloway. [node:read-more:link]
There’s little doubt that using animals for entertainment is rapidly becoming unacceptable. The fleeting entertainment we may experience at seeing animals perform tricks isn’t worth forcing them to endure suffering, and even death. I predict that rodeo events will be the next spectacle of suffering to become socially unacceptable. The Calgary Stampede has become synonymous with the trauma and violence of rodeo events. Starting this weekend, rodeo competitors will face off in nine separate event categories, including calf roping, steer wrestling, bronco riding, and chuckwagon racing. [node:read-more:link]
Ag tech gets a lot of buzz these days — with talk of drones, sensors, data-reading apps on tractors and new genetic engineering tools hot topics in Silicon Valley and recipients of a surge of investment. But the reality is that not much of that technology is yet in the fields. According to AgFunder, while investment in ag tech nearly doubled last year to $4.6 billion from $2.4 billion in 2014, the commercial adoption of new ag-tech products is generally "soft" with farmers agreeing to free or deeply discounted beta trials of new tools but not often buying them for long-term use. [node:read-more:link]
