Agriculture News
Growing Pains for Illinois Cannabis Farm
Successful Farming | Posted on January 17, 2017News alert to farm entrepreneurs: There are no get-rich-quick schemes. Case in point is cannabis farming. Marijuana, that is. Successful Farming magazine reported a year ago on one of the first cannabis farms in Illinois, where it’s legal to grow the crop for medicinal reasons. The Revolution Enterprises cannabis farm near Delavan had plans to produce 7,000 pounds of medical cannabis every year, worth $20 million or more. Dispensaries in Illinois would sell it to muscular dystrophy, cancer, autism, and other patients for pain, seizure, or depressive disorders. The facility is up and running, say the owners, but only at 25% capacity.
New study reveals negative implications of raising slow growing chickens
Feedstuffs | Posted on January 17, 2017In assessing a transition to a slower-growing breed, the environmental impact is an important component often left out of the equation, NCC said. If only one-third of broiler chicken producers switched to a slower-growing breed, nearly 1.5 billion more birds would be needed annually to produce the same amount of meat currently produced — requiring a tremendous increase in water, land and fuel consumption. This would amount to: Additional feed — It will take enough feed to fill 670,000 more tractor trailers on the road per year, using millions more gallons of fuel annually. Additional land — An additional 7.6 million acres of land per year will be needed to grow the extra feed (corn and soybeans), amounting to roughly the size of the entire state of Maryland. Additional manure output — Slower-growing chickens will also stay on the farm longer, producing an additional 28.5 billion lb. of manure annually. That's enough litter to create a pile on a football field that is 27 times higher than a typical football stadium. Additional water — It will require an extra 5.1 billion gal. of drinking water per year for the chickens (excluding the additional irrigation water that would be required to grow the additional feed).
The coming social storm and what it means to agriculture
Feedstuffs | Posted on January 17, 2017In our new Post-post modern era, facts are dispensable. It’s the myth that counts. My point is this: With a new Administration assuming the highest office in just a few days, we are going to witness something like a 180 degree turn from the policies of the last eight years. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing will be debated for the life of our country. Some of the debates will be sensible and well-mannered. Too many of them will descend into unreasoned rage and madness. And where does all this lead, you might ask? What American agriculture grows and how we do it will be examined as never before - every plowed row, every new born calf, every chick and piglet will be a subject of debate. Farmers and ranchers who choose to passionately defend the status quo and not consider the ever-changing, always fractionalized opinions of the buying public will find a thorny, weedy, tough row to hoe. Uncomfortable discussions will be made, pitting rural against urban, big ag against little ag, slow food vs fast food. It will be occasionally unpleasant and often hostile as both sides firmly believe right is with them and the other side is populated by know-nothing fools.
The 16 questions facing production agriculture in 2017
Farm Forum | Posted on January 17, 2017More importantly, the questions facing production agriculture in 2017 seem to be more critical than years earlier. With that said, here is our list of the 16 key questions facing production agriculture in 2017. 1. Are farm financial conditions stabilizing… or just getting serious? 2. Will the jump in producer sentiment meet reality? 3. Another year of above-trend yields? 4. Will La Nina make a splash? 5. Demand and grain exports have been strong. Will it continue? 6. Planting intentions? 7. Is wheat the canary in the coal mine? Or don’t worry about it? 8. Will there be a positive commodity surprise? Will Farmers get a (another) chance to sell at profitable levels? 9. How long can farmers hold back on capital expenditures? 10. Will farmland values and cash rents continue to fall?
Consumers, birds could suffer when activists direct poultry production
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on January 17, 2017The recent election was very controversial. No, I am not talking about the Presidential election, but the measure that was passed in Massachusetts to prevent confinement rearing of several species including table-egg hens. This measure is estimated to increase the food bill of each resident of that state by $45 per year. I wish that we could somehow communicate more effectively how many advancements have been made in animal welfare in the last 15 years. It has been a meteoric change in housing, audits to verify animal care, record keeping and handling. We all appreciated how many changes Temple Grandin has been able to accomplish in the design of slaughter plants. The move to move sows to group housing and chickens out of cages has happened very fast. Maybe too fast. Now we are seeing pressure to make some serious changes on the way broilers are raised. Chipotle has teamed up with the Humane Society of the United States and Compassion for World Farming USA to influence how chickens destined for burritos will be raised. These changes are reported to be: changes in genetics to encourage slower growth, changes in density that limit the number of birds in each house, changes in lighting, and a switch to controlled atmosphere killing at processing. The push for slow growing birds may have some appeal at first look, but as with most quick decisions, there are unanticipated consequences.
Sanderson Farms opens North Carolina poultry complex
Watt Ag Net | Posted on January 16, 2017New deboning facility to employ 1,100 people and provide opportunity for 100 contract growers.Sanderson Farms has opened a new $155 million poultry processing plantand wastewater treatment facility in St. Pauls, North Carolina.This new 180,000-square-foot plant will accompany the existing 65,000-square-foot hatchery located in Lumberton, North Carolina, as well as a feed mill in Kinston, North Carolina., making it the company’s eleventh fully integrated poultry processing facility nationwide.
Puerto Ricans Could Ease South Dakota Dairy Labor Shortage
ABC News | Posted on January 16, 2017Unable to find enough workers to carry out the painstaking tasks of milk production, dairy producers in South Dakota hope to tap into a different labor force: unemployed residents of Puerto Rico. It could be a tonic both for dairy operators and Puerto Rico, where the jobless rate stands at 12 percent but workers are far freer to travel to the U.S. for jobs than immigrants due to the island's status as a U.S. territory. South Dakota dairy farms produced 209 million pounds of milk in 2016, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. That's far less than the more commonly known milk-producing states of California and Wisconsin, but the state's pilot project to find another labor source is gaining attention. The proposal from a team of agriculture experts to recruit a labor force from the Caribbean island to work on South Dakota's dairies would eliminate the need for a visa because Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. Experts from the South Dakota State University Extension hope to bring about 20 workers by September.
Environmental Groups Concerned About Oregon Mega-dairy
Ag Web | Posted on January 16, 2017A coalition of health and environmental groups is asking Oregon officials to investigate construction of a mega-dairy in Morrow County. It's unclear whether state agencies will sign off on the controversial 30,000-cow dairy farm. It hasn't been determined whether Lost Valley Ranch broke the law by breaking ground long before it secured the necessary permits.
Rising Sea Levels, Coastal Development’s Effect on Gulf Coast Wetlands
SAT Press Releases | Posted on January 16, 2017As coastal development along the Gulf Coast continues to expand, tidal saline wetlands could have difficulty adjusting to rising sea levels. Tidal saline wetlands along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast, such as mangrove forests, salt marshes, and salt flats, face survival challenges as sea levels rise rapidly and development along coastlines continues to grow. But, a recently published U.S. Geological Survey study shows there is hope for some of these at-risk Gulf coast wetlands. In the study, which was conducted from 2012 – 2015, the authors considered the potential for landward movement of coastal wetlands under different sea-level rise scenarios. They also considered the impact of barriers to wetland migration due to current and future urbanization and examined how existing conservation lands, such as parks and refuges, might accommodate expected landward migration.
Refund:Milk purchased in these 15 states may get you $70 refund
King 5 | Posted on January 16, 2017Thanks to a class action settlement, Oregon residents who has purchased milk or milk products since 2003 may be entitled to a payment. The $52 million settlement over price-fixing of milk and milk products includes Oregon, 14 other states, and the District of Columbia. While the payment amounts will vary depending on the number of products and the number of submitted claims, a website for the settlements says consumers may receive up to $70. No proof of purchase is needed to be eligible. In order to be eligible, you must have purchased milk or milk products from a grocery store.