Agriculture News
Missouri Attorney General defends states’ sovereign, economic interests
Farm Futures | Posted on April 18, 2018California imposes its poultry cage rules on states hoping to sell to California consumers. In requesting the U.S. Supreme Court to accept its complaint in the California cage size case, Missouri’s Attorney General states, “Unless this Court acts, California will continue to impose new agricultural regulations on other states in violation of federal law and those States’ sovereign, quasi-sovereign, and economic interests…”. The Attorneys General from Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin state they have “…a claim of seriousness and dignity between Sovereign States over which this Court [U.S. Supreme Court] has exclusive jurisdiction.” The complaining states are requesting the Court to hear this case between them and the state of California. The complaining States make it clear California has a history of ignoring federal statutes.
Tackling cage-free layer housing air quality challenges
Watt Ag Net | Posted on April 18, 2018Giving laying hens access to a litter area for dustbathing, scratching and foraging helps minimize aggressive behavior, but it can result in dust and ammonia problems. Dust, which can serve as a carrier of microorganisms and endotoxins, is a significant health risk for both farm workers and the birds as fine particulate matter can enter into the respiratory system. Ammonia, likewise, can cause respiratory tract irritation or damage. Recent studies have shown that cage-free housing results in six to nine times higher dust in the house environment than cage systems with manure belts. Researchers in Europe and the U.S. have explored many potential approaches to controlling dust including ionization with electrical charges using metal wires on the ceiling. Other studies have focused on spraying litter with treatments including tap water, acidic water, soybean, canola or rapeseed oil and combinations of water and oil.
Do engagements, natural environments help broiler welfare?
wattagnet.com | Posted on April 18, 2018Conventional thinking surrounding animal welfare suggests creating an environment more similar to the nature leads to happier birds and better performance. But are the environmental enrichments and changes currently used in the broiler industry really helping? hepard said he was optimistic about the use of engagements at Wayne Farms. Ninety percent of what the company does in the name of animal welfare – including the engagements – comes back in the form of profits. The other 10 percent, he said, is done because it’s the right thing for the bird. In 2017, Wayne Farms started raising some birds under the welfare standards established by the Global Animal Partnership (GAP) welfare rating system. In September 2017, it launched a line of products – Naked Truth – rated GAP Step 2, meaning the birds live in an enriched environment. GAP’s highest rank, of six in total, is Step 5+, where the birds spend their entire lives on the farm and are raised in an animal-centered and pastured environment.
HSUS Abandons Arizona Campaign
Humane Watch | Posted on April 18, 2018HSUS’s front group, Arizonans for Wildlife, quietly put out a statement that it is suspending its campaign this year to place a measure on the ballot in Arizona to ban hunting of predators such as mountain lions. The measure likely would have faced significant opposition from professional wildlife biologists. Hunting is an important tool for managing wildlife populations, and HSUS doesn’t offer any realistic alternative to managed hunting. (HSUS has suggested the use of birth control darts to control wildlife populations—a highly expensive and unrealistic proposition.) A similar situation played out in Maine in 2014 when HSUS attempted to restrict the hunting of bears via the ballot. Wildlife biologists spoke out against HSUS’s measure, and despite HSUS pouring in millions of dollars, good wildlife management defeated HSUS by a 6-point margin.
Ohio EPA addressing river nutrients
Farm and Dairy | Posted on April 18, 2018With the expectation that new water quality rules are coming to Ohio’s large rivers, the Ohio EPA is holding informational meetings to discuss the indicators of polluted rivers, and potential targets for nutrient loading. In March, the Ohio EPA released a draft report of the state’s latest list of impaired water bodies, which included the western basin of the open waters of Lake Erie. The state has battled water quality concerns over the past decade related to harmful algal blooms in the lake, and nutrient overloading in its rivers.
Remnants of antibiotics persist in treated farm waste
Science Daily | Posted on April 17, 2018Each year, farmers in the US purchase tens of millions of pounds of antibiotics approved for use in cows, pigs, fowl and other livestock. When the animals' manure is repurposed as fertilizer or bedding, traces of the medicines leach into the environment, raising concerns about how agriculture contributes to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. New research holds troublesome insights with regard to the scope of this problem.
Farm Bill end of payment limitations would pave way for further farm consolidation
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition | Posted on April 17, 2018Included in the draft farm bill presented by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) last week were several provisions that would reverse decades of precedent, and usher American agriculture into a new era of unlimited farm subsidies for the nation’s largest mega-farms. As part of its ongoing analysis of the Chairman’s draft bill, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition reviewed these provisions and found that they would promote land and economic consolidation, with the primary beneficiaries being the largest, wealthiest farm operations.Though limitations adopted in the final 2014 Farm Bill were far from game changing, they did make at least some effort to level the playing field for family farmers and reduce abusive subsidy schemes used to circumvent the law. The Conaway proposal makes a complete 180° turn from these reform efforts, and effectively ensures that payment limitations will never actually apply to anyone who cares to avoid them.
Ag Community Relief sending materials to help OK wildfire victims
Ag Community Relief | Posted on April 17, 2018The time has come that our friends in Oklahoma are in need of assistance. Ag Community Relief will have a semi and an enclosed trailer leaving Wednesday, April 18th to deliver goods. If anyone has even just a couple round bales to help fill the semi or fencing and feed materials to fill the enclosed trailer please contact Eddie Fahley (810) 304-4651 or Matt Schaller (810) 614-0968.
PA preserves 27 farms throughout state
Fox News | Posted on April 17, 2018Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Land Preservation Board has safeguarded 27 farms throughout the state, State Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced. Three of the 27 farms are in Lancaster County while two others reside in Lebanon and York counties.
Dairy Farmers of America breaks ground on retail store in Utah
Feedstuffs | Posted on April 16, 2018Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a national cooperative owned by family farmers, broke ground this week for the construction of a new retail store, The Creamery, in Beaver, Utah, which will replace the existing cheese store currently on the site of DFA’s Beaver City processing plant. Slated for opening in late 2018, the new 11,250 sq. ft. store will be more than four times the size of the original cheese store and will feature expanded retail space, greater product selection and an interactive, educational experience about dairy for visitors.