Wisconsin farmers showed the effects of continued low prices for their products in 2018 as the state led the nation in farm bankruptcies for the third straight year and dairy farms closed at the highest pace this century.The state had 47 Chapter 12 bankruptcies, a chapter designated almost specifically for family farms last year, according to data from the U.S. Bankruptcy courts. That was 16 more than second-place Nebraska. [node:read-more:link]

 Iowa is appealing a federal court ruling that says the state's ag-gag law is unconstitutional, based on free-speech violations.Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller filed a motion Wednesday to send the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Miller and Gov. [node:read-more:link]

The International Dairy Federation (IDF) has released a new Bulletin that provides an overview of some key technological, microbiological and nutritional aspects of milk pasteurization and reaffirms that the process does not significantly impact the nutritional properties of milk. [node:read-more:link]

Farmers are leading stewards of the land and water, making conservation decisions that impact almost 1 billion U.S. acres every day. Farmers understand the importance of habitat for wildlife and outdoor recreation, and they know firsthand the critical role productive land plays in economic success.
[node:read-more:link]

A judge has just thrown out two amendments to the North Carolina Constitution that voters approved in November. One of the amendments was to implement a voter ID requirement, and the other was a cap on the state income tax rate.The North Carolina General Assembly is so gerrymandered that its members don’t truly represent the people of the state and thus should never have proposed constitutional amendments in the first place, Wake County Superior Court Judge G. Bryan Collins wrote in his ruling. [node:read-more:link]

People without identification have a harder time renting an apartment, opening or accessing a bank account, using medical insurance, qualifying for federal benefits, like food stamps, or even staying in some homeless shelters. And, of course, getting a job is nearly impossible. [node:read-more:link]

A proposal from Gov. [node:read-more:link]

Farmers, ranchers, fisherman and the rest of agribusiness will try to satisfy dietary protein demands as the global population soars in number toward the nine billion the United Nations projects by 2040. With that steady increase comes rising incomes and, especially in developing countries, demand for more and more protein-laden foods. How to meet the demand? [node:read-more:link]

Lean fish has significant advantages over other aquatic or terrestrial species for cell-cultured protein production, according to the founders of Clean Research, a new open science initiative created to accelerate the research and development of cell-cultured fish. [node:read-more:link]

The United States, Canada and Mexico are partnering to prevent the African swine fever (ASF) virus from entering their borders. ASF has been spreading throughout pig farms and wild boar in China and parts of Europe since last summer, and has resulted in the death or culling of hundreds of thousands of pigs. It recently was detected for the first time in Vietnam.Although ASF does not affect humans, it is highly contagious and deadly among pigs, cannot be cured and has no vaccine.At the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Annual Agriculture Outlook Forum this week, U.S. [node:read-more:link]