The Global Food Security Act is intended to make the “Feed the Future” program a permanent program, locked into statute. It is on the goal line in Congress thanks to bipartisan leadership and cooperation between both Agriculture Committees and the two Foreign Relations Committees. According to a new report by The Economist the “Global Food Security Index” is improving. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimate “the number of undernourished people has fallen by 176 million of the past ten years” but we still have a way to go. [node:read-more:link]

The Oakland City Council voted unanimously Monday to block the handling and storage of coal in Oakland, effectively halting a developer’s controversial plan to ship coal from the port. The new ordinance, which requires a second vote to be made final, would thwart Oakland developer Phil Tagami’s plan to export coal from a terminal near the east end of the Bay Bridge. [node:read-more:link]

President Obama and his counterparts from Canada and Mexico are preparing to unveil an ambitious new goal for generating carbon-free power when they meet this week in Ottawa.  The three leaders are expected to set a target for North America to get 50 percent of its electricity from nonpolluting sources by 2025. That's up from about 37 percent last year.  Aides acknowledge that's a "stretch goal," requiring commitments over and above what the three countries agreed to as part of the Paris climate agreement. [node:read-more:link]

Northeast dairy farmers who have been strapped for months by low milk prices say a voluntary insurance program that was supposed to be a safety net isn’t helping.  The margin protection program provides financial assistance to enrolled farmers when the gap between the price of milk and national average feed costs falls below the coverage levels picked by individual farmers.  “It’s a complete failure,” said Les Pike, of Keewaydin Farm in Stowe, Vermont, which has been losing money for months. [node:read-more:link]

Kentucky Mist Moonshine - an upscale distillery that sells fruit-infused moonshine in Whitesburg, KY, has spent 8 months in a trademark dispute with the University of Kentucky over who owns the rights to the name "Kentucky".  UK trademaked the name Kentucky in 1997 for use on clothing.  Judge Danny Reeves accepted that the university was immune to being sued and Kentucky Mist can not trademark his business name.  [node:read-more:link]

Rhode Island's legislature has passed a bill to "legalize the production and processing of industrial hemp for commercial purposes in the state." According to the Rhode Island General Assembly HB 8232, which may also be cited as Rhode Island's "Hemp Growth Act", would take effect on January 1, 2017 and would permit the growth of hemp by properly licensed individuals that have applied and met the requirements and would also allow higher educational institutions to grow hemp for educational and research purposes pending approval from the Department of Health. [node:read-more:link]

Antimicrobial drugs are commonly used for animals raised in food production for treatment, control, and prevention of disease as well as growth promotion or increased feed efficiency in many production systems. A recent report from the USDA Economic Research Service (Sneeringer et al. [node:read-more:link]

As the biofuel industry has developed, there has been a lot of discussion about the linkages between the energy and agricultural markets. The growth of the ethanol and biodiesel sectors bolstered the connection among the oil, gas, and crop markets. As crop-based biofuels compete in the energy market, crop prices are directly impacted not only by the relative standing of biofuels in the fuel hierarchy, but also by general shifts in energy supplies and demands. [node:read-more:link]

An effort to legalize recreational marijuana collected more than 25,000 signatures, said spokesman Jim Borghesani.  "(Voters) made it clear that this is something that they're interested in and they think should be on the ballot," Borghesani said. "We're very happy with the signature collection, and we're very happy to be able to, we think, be on the ballot in November."  The marijuana legalization effort faces opposition from a well organizes campaign committee that includes Gov. Charlie Baker and House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop. [node:read-more:link]

The future of Grant’s Farm is one step closer to being determined, after a St. Louis judge ruled Tuesday that the trust manager, Wells Fargo, has the power to decide whether to sell the property and who buys it. Two groups of Busch family siblings have submitted competing plans for buying and operating the wildlife attraction, in the Affton area of St. Louis County. [node:read-more:link]