AgClips
Recent AgClips
Catalina Sea Ranch snags federal grant to start kelp farming
Daily Breeze | Posted onOctober 12, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsInside a cavernous steel warehouse built in the 1910s for the Port of Los Angeles’ then-booming fishing industry, Catalina Sea Ranch’s unique aquaculture labs are blazing a trail for a budding new U.S. industry. A Cryolab nurtures bunches of genetically diverse breeding mussels growing in baths infused with phytoplankton. Many of their shiny black-shelled progenies, hanging on lines in federal waters 10 miles offshore, are awaiting the ranch’s first harvest in December.And ranch founder Phil Cruver just began work to produce his newest crop: giant sea kelp.The U.S.
Japanese mutant chickens are laying eggs filled with cancer-fighting drugs
Fast Company | Posted onOctober 12, 2017 in Agriculture NewsIn their ongoing efforts to make drugs cheaper, Japanese researchers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have genetically engineered chickens to lay eggs containing drugs that can fight diseases like hepatitis and cancer. According to Phys.org, the unique drug creation technique uses gene-editing technology to make the …er, cocks produce interferon beta, a protein related to the immune system that is a powerful tool in treating of skin cancer and hepatitis. Those cells were then used to fertilize eggs and create hens, which inherited those genes.
Under pressure, Amish farmers begin to exit dairy business
edairynews | Posted onOctober 12, 2017 in Agriculture NewsHas a slow exodus of Plain Sect farmers from the dairy business in Lancaster County already begun?
South Dakota Department Of Agriculture Recruiting Dairy Processors
edairynews | Posted onOctober 12, 2017 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsSouth Dakota has gone from a milk deficit to a milk surplus. As a result, state officials and dairy industry representatives were at the World Dairy Expo trying to recruit new processors to the state. David Skaggs works with dairy development for the South Dakota Department of Agriculture. He says they’re looking hard at plants that process some of the new dairy products on the market, like protein drinks.He says currently milk is being exported out of state. Plus, permits have been approved for new dairy operations that are on hold because they have nowhere to sell their milk.
Free online food safety course now available for artisan, farmstead cheesemakers
Dairy Foods | Posted onOctober 12, 2017 in Food NewsThe course, offered by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy in partnership with North Carolina State University, focuses on food safety. The Innovation Center’s latest resource, an online course offered in partnership with North Carolina State University, is geared toward artisan and farmstead cheesemakers, who represent a growing segment of cheese production. More than a thousand U.S. processors are helping meet consumer demand for these cheeses.
Maine: Legislative panel to study pet peeve of governor: conserved land
The Fresno Bee | Posted onOctober 12, 2017 in Agriculture, Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsLawmakers have begun diving into the issue of land conservation programs, which supporters say benefit surrounding communities and Republican Gov. Paul LePage has often derided as a tax giveaway for wealthy interests. LePage has, for years, criticized lawmakers for catering to wealthy groups and individuals whom he claims enjoy scenic views on tax-exempt land that increase property taxes for seniors and poor Mainers.
‘CRISPR’ Bacon: Pigs could soon save millions more lives
Pork Business | Posted onOctober 12, 2017 in Agriculture, Food NewsIt’s already known that in pig production, “everything but the squeal” can be used by humans – the meat is a wonderful source of niacin and other vitamins and minerals, pigs’ heart valves have long been used as replacements for human valves, and the list goes on. But now, pigs may have even higher value. Researchers in Cambridge, Mass., may be a big step closer to developing pigs whose entire organs and other tissues can be transplanted into humans.
Unique model makes citizens a funding partner in broadband network
Daily Yonder | Posted onOctober 12, 2017 in Rural NewsAmmon, Idaho (pop. 13,800), today celebrates its success at thinking differently to produce a city-owned gig network. The city built the network with no debt and got an impressive 70% of the potential customers to sign up for service. One key is new technology. The other is that the “private” in this PPP structure is citizens themselves. “Ammon has created a unique and interesting model,” says Deb Socia, executive director of Next Century Cities, a national organization of mayors and other civic leaders who are trying to improve broadband connectivity locally.
How Will the Clean Power Plan Repeal Change Carbon Emissions for Your State?
The New York Times | Posted onOctober 12, 2017 in Energy, Federal NewsIt all depends on where you live. For California, repeal won’t make much difference. For West Virginia, it could matter a lot.When the Obama administration unveiled the Clean Power Plan in 2015, each state was given individual goals to slash power sector emissions.
Ag Leaders Upset by Trump Immigration Proposal, No Guestworker Markup
DTN | Posted onOctober 12, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsAgriculture leaders are upset by President Donald Trump's announcement Sunday that the administration wants to require e-verification of workers without a new proposal to bring in farm workers, and by the cancellation by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., of the markup of the Ag Guestworker bill that was planned for last Wednesday. The White House on Sunday evening announced an immigration agenda that includes Congress paying for the border wall and implementing the e-verify program for all workers in the United States.