AgClips
Recent AgClips
NAFTA's 'Broken Promises': These Farmers Say They Got The Raw End Of Trade Deal
NPR | Posted onAugust 15, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsYou've heard that American agriculture loves trade. And it's easy to see why: Under NAFTA, American farmers have quadrupled their exports to Canada and Mexico and the two nations rank second and third, after China, as markets for U.S. farm goods. "American agriculture is virtually always a winner when trade agreements remove barriers to U.S.
Trump’s Trade Pullout Roils Rural America
Politico | Posted onAugust 15, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsAfter the U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, other nations launch 27 separate negotiations to undercut U.S. exporters. The decision to pull out of the trade deal has become a double hit on places like Eagle Grove. The promised bump of $10 billion in agricultural output over 15 years, based on estimates by the U.S. International Trade Commission, won’t materialize.
Inside the Secret World of Global Food Spies
Bloomberg | Posted onAugust 15, 2017 in Food NewsIn demand by multinational retailers and food producers, Inscatech and its agents scour supply chains around the world hunting for evidence of food industry fraud and malpractice. In the eight years since he founded the New York-based firm, Weinberg, 52, says China continues to be a key growth area for fraudsters as well as those developing technologies trying to counter them. “Statistically we’re uncovering fraud about 70 percent of the time, but in China it’s very close to 100 percent,” he said.
New Jersey-Size 'Dead Zone' Is Largest Ever in Gulf of Mexico
National Geographic | Posted onAugust 15, 2017 in Agriculture, Energy NewsA record-breaking, New Jersey-sized dead zone was measured by scientists in the Gulf of Mexico this week—a sign that water quality in U.S. waterways is worse than expected.The Gulf of Mexico hypoxic or low-oxygen zone, also called a dead zone, is an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and other marine life.
Carbon Dioxide May Rob Crops Of Nutrition, Leaving Millions At Risk
NPR | Posted onAugust 15, 2017 in Agriculture NewsMyers and his colleagues wanted to quantify what those changes might mean for people around the world. To do this, they built a new database detailing the foods people in each country eat and the nutrient content of those foods. The database lists the "per capita consumption of 225 foods for 152 different countries." It also accounts for differences in diets in each country based on age and gender. The database allowed them to calculate the number of people within each country that aren't getting enough of certain nutrients.
CA: Cap-and-trade extension included fire fee repeal
Capital Press | Posted onAugust 10, 2017 in Energy, Rural NewsThe bill to extend California’s cap-and-trade program through 2030, which was signed recently by Gov. Jerry Brown, included the repeal of a controversial fee charged to rural landowners for fire protection.
Broadband economic benefits: why invest in broadband infrastructure?
Daily Yonder | Posted onAugust 10, 2017 in Rural NewsThe long-term economic benefits of providing broadband access to every rural community exceed the cost of building that infrastructure. And it isn’t even close. A 2017 study by Ohio State University Swank Program on Rural-Urban Policy estimated the economic benefits of providing broadband access to unserved households in Ohio. To calculate these estimates, the Ohio State study used customer surplus– what a consumer is willing to pay for a service compared to what they are actually paying.
SNAP plays outsized role in the economy of rural grocery stores
Daily Yonder | Posted onAugust 10, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal, Rural NewsAs a new report shows that rural households are about 25% more likely than urban ones to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), rural grocers say the federal nutrition program is an important part of the revenue that keeps their stores in business. “The way I see it, SNAP is one of the best government programs out there,” said Kip Yoss, who owns and operates two independent grocery stores in rural West Missouri.
Farms feel the immigrant impact
The Post Star | Posted onAugust 9, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsOpponents of immigration reform say immigrants drain resources that could be used for U.S. citizens.But studies show immigrants, legal and illegal, do pay taxes and pay into the Social Security system, even though most will never collect Social Security benefits.A March 2017 study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
Wisconsin Dairy Business Association files lawsuit against DNR
edairynews | Posted onAugust 9, 2017 in Agriculture NewsThe Dairy Business Association is trying to keep the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in check through a lawsuit seeking to stop the agency from overreaching its authority. It centers on how the agency implements new regulations without going through an approval process required by state law.