AgClips
Recent AgClips
Iowa GOP pushes for quick action on water quality bill that environmentalists call flawed
Des Moines Register | Posted onDecember 18, 2017 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsRepublican leaders are pushing Iowa House members to get behind a $27 million water quality bill the state Senate passed last session, calling it the Legislature's most viable option for long-term, sustainable funding. "I feel pretty strongly that it’s a good bill. Nothing is perfect, but it's a good bill," said Sen. Ken Rozenboom, R-Oskaloosa, the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee chairman."I'd be delighted if we could pass what we have in the House and move on," he said.Gov.
EU seeks to simplify and make farm policy fairer in sweeping changes
Farming UK | Posted onDecember 18, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe European Union is looking to simplify farming policy rules and boost farmers' bargaining power against supermarkets in a list of sweeping changes announced.
The Silicon Valley paradox: one in four people are at risk of hunger
The Guardian | Posted onDecember 18, 2017 in Food NewsOne in four people in Silicon Valley are at risk of hunger, researchers at the Second Harvest food bank have found. Using hundreds of community interviews and data modeling, a new study suggests that 26.8% of the population – almost 720,000 people – qualify as “food insecure” based on risk factors such as missing meals, relying on food banks or food stamps, borrowing money for food, or neglecting bills and rent in order to buy groceries. Nearly a quarter are families with children. “We call it the Silicon Valley paradox,” says Steve Brennan, the food bank’s marketing director.
The simple way we might turn food waste into green energy
NBC | Posted onDecember 18, 2017 in Energy, Food NewsScientists have been looking for solutions to the food waste problem, and now researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, think they've hit upon a possible fix. They say that by making use of a pair of simple chemical processes — hydrothermal liquefaction and anaerobic digestion — we could turn food waste into environmentally friendly biofuel.
New equity funds ignite rural renaissance and some renewables
Agri-Pulse | Posted onDecember 18, 2017 in Agriculture NewsNew private investment funds financed by the Farm Credit System and rigorously vetted by USDA are capturing some of the equity capital that typically ignores rural America. Led by St. Louis-based Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners, which USDA licensed as a Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) in 2014, current and prospective RBICs could deliver over $1 billion in capital earmarked for rural business financing. Advantage Principal Tim Hassler sees compelling need to pump this new investment capital into rural America.
NYC passes new urban agriculture bill
Metro | Posted onDecember 18, 2017 in Agriculture NewsThe bill will create a new digital hub will help organize urban farmers throughout the city. The New York City council passed a bill today that will create the city’s first centralized digital hub meant specifically for urban agriculture. This hub will be run entirely by the city and will hopefully be seen as a resource for both new and established businesses. This bill, entitled 1661-A, is sponsored by council member Rafael Espinal, at the request of Eric L. Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President, and passed overwhelmingly with a 47-0 vote in the City Council.
Your mood depends on the food you eat, and what you should eat changes as you get older
Science Daily | Posted onDecember 18, 2017 in Food NewsDiet and dietary practices differentially affect mental health in young adults versus older adults, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. Lina Begdache, assistant professor of health and wellness studies at Binghamton University, along with fellow Binghamton researchers, conducted an anonymous internet survey, asking people around the world to complete the Food-Mood Questionnaire (FMQ), which includes questions on food groups that have been associated with neurochemistry and neurobiology.
Getting somewhere in net neutrality
Daily Yonder | Posted onDecember 18, 2017 in Rural NewsThe topic of net neutrality provides an opportunity to talk about potentially contentious issues without triggering our fight or flight response. Perhaps there’s a lesson here all of us could apply to other public discussions.
Young people returning to farming
Daily Yonder | Posted onDecember 18, 2017 in Agriculture NewsA new survey of young farmers finds these entrepreneurs have plenty of energy and ambition, but not nearly enough capital. Access to land, student debt, costs of labor and healthcare raise big questions for the next generation of farmers.
Insurance giant Axa dumps investments in tar sands pipelines
The Guardian | Posted onDecember 18, 2017 in Energy NewsOne of the world’s biggest financial services companies is both dumping investments and ending insurance for controversial US oil pipelines, taking fossil fuel divestment to a new level.Axa is also quadrupling its divestment from coal businesses and increasing its green investments fivefold by 2020.