Agriculture News
Monsanto shareholder’s suit to block Bayer merger thrown out
Bloomberg | Posted on December 13, 2016A Monsanto Co. shareholder’s lawsuit to block the agricultural giant’s merger with the German chemical company Bayer AG was thrown out by a Missouri judge. The investor alleged that Monsanto’s board of directors had breached its fiduciary responsibility to shareholders by accepting Bayer’s $128 bid for Monsanto shares. The shares were worth more than that and the directors stood to reap financial windfalls from the deal, according to the complaint.St. Louis County Circuit Judge John D. Warner Jr. granted Monsanto’s motion to dismiss the suit while leaving open the possibility it can be re-filed later. Monsanto had argued that a corporate bylaw enacted in August required such suits be brought in Delaware, where Monsanto is chartered.
A new generation of farmers rents to cope with soaring American cropland prices
Bloomberg | Posted on December 12, 2016The overall number of farmers in the U.S. has been shrinking steadily, but the number of tenant farmers age 25 to 44 climbed almost 9 percent from 2007 to 2012, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) census. In California, the country’s leading agricultural producer, it rose 22 percent; in Washington and Oregon, it was up 9 percent and 11 percent, respectively. Many of the new tenant farmers identify with the locally grown food movement and are cultivating high-value organic produce. U.S. sales of organic food climbed to a record $43.3 billion in 2015, and there’s still plenty of room to grow: The category accounts for only about 5 percent of all food sales, according to the Organic Trade Association. “I had a general feeling of distrust in the industrial food system, and I wanted to be able to provide good-quality food to my community, especially to our families and friends,” says Helena.
Organic livestock and poultry rule reaches last step
National Hog Farmer | Posted on December 11, 2016USDA’s Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule now is pending at the White House Office of Management and Budget, the last step in the rulemaking process before it becomes final. The National Pork Producers Council is urging the USDA to withdraw the rule, or if it’s approved before Jan. 20, the Trump USDA to repeal it.
Are these genetically engineered cows the future of medicine?
The Verge | Posted on December 11, 2016They look like normal black-and-white Holstein cows, a common sight in Western Iowa. But these cows are special: used not for their milk or meat, but for their blood. They’re plasma donors, and one day, the life they save may be your own. The cows were genetically engineered by biotech company SAB Biotherapeutics to produce human antibodies, proteins that fight pathogens. These antibodies could one day treat infectious diseases like Ebola, influenza, and Zika — and their potential to address global outbreaks was recognized this summer by the World Health Organization. SAB’s cattle are just the latest example of lab-made animals engineered to be drug factories. Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a genetically modified chicken that makes a drug in its eggs to treat "lysosomal acid lipase deficiency" — a rare genetic condition that prevents the body from breaking down fatty molecules inside cells. In 2014, the FDA approved a drug collected from the milk of lab-made rabbits to treat hereditary angioedema, a genetic disease that causes body swelling and can be fatal. And in 2009, the FDA approved a genetically altered goat that can make a drug in its milk that prevents fatal blood clots.
Florida's shriveling agriculture industry can't shake the fall of citrus, loss of land
Tampa Bay Times | Posted on December 11, 2016Matt McKendree, 29, orders a burger, as does everyone else at the table after a morning of penning and deworming cows. "In 20 years, I don't think there will be any real cattle operations around here," says the seventh-generation cattle rancher and father of two young boys. "There won't be enough land." It has been a long time since farmers and ranchers could turn their spreads of land into big moneymakers. Many of them, like McKendree, have little faith that their children will be able to scrape together a living if they stick with the family business. Florida has a long and rich agricultural history, a bond so ingrained in the state's identity that the venerated orange emblazons the state's license plate. But decades of an accelerated decline have taken a toll, and agriculture has now shriveled to the point that it's no longer a major part of the state's economy.
Republican rancher will chair Idaho House ag committee
Capital Press | Posted on December 11, 2016Rep. Judy Boyle, a Republican rancher from Midvale, has been selected to chair the House Agricultural Affairs Committee. She is one of 11 current or retired farmers or ranchers who will chair House and Senate committees in the Idaho Legislature when the 2017 session starts in January.Boyle, who is in her fifth term in the legislature and has been named one of the 100 most influential people in Idaho, said her predecessor, Ken Andrus, set a high bar.
USDA final analysis recommends deregulation of GE bentgrass
USDA | Posted on December 11, 2016The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service received a request (APHIS Petition 15-300-01p) from The Scotts Company LLC of Marysville, OH and Monsanto Company of St. Louis, MO seeking a determination of nonregulated status for ASR368 creeping bentgrass that has been engineered to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. When APHIS receives a petition for nonregulated status of an article currently regulated under its PPA authority codified in 7 CFR part 340, the Agency is required to make a decision. As a Federal agency, APHIS must also comply with applicable U.S. environmental laws and regulations because a decision on a petition for nonregulated status, whether positive or negative, is a final Agency action that might cause environmental impacts. The petition stated that APHIS should not regulate ASR368 creeping bentgrass because it does not present a plant pest risk. In the event of a determination of nonregulated status, the nonregulated status would include ASR368 creeping bentgrass and any progeny derived from crosses between ASR368 creeping bentgrass and conventional creeping bentgrass, including crosses of ASR368 creeping bentgrass with other biotechnology-derived creeping bentgrass varieties that are no longer subject to the regulatory requirements of 7 CFR part 340
Ranchers seek exemption to electronic device trucking rule
Capital Press | Posted on December 11, 2016Cattle ranchers want an exemption to a livestock hauling rule change that they say will hinder their ability to transport animals long distances. The new rule requires the use of hours-of-service electronic logging devices by drivers who are currently required only to prepare records of duty status.The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration’s Electronic Logging Device rule goes into effect Dec. 18, 2017.The final rule does not change federal hours-of-service requirements, said Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration spokesman Duane DeBruyne. Drivers required to maintain federal records of duty status must convert from paper logs to electronic logging devices.Current rules place an 11-hour driving limit after a driver has been off-duty 10 hours and require 30-minute rest breaks every eight hours. A driver may not drive after 60-70 hours of consecutive duty in seven or eight days. “The device will log in whenever the truck starts, and that kicks off the hours of service clock, even if the driver just drives 20 minutes out of town to the sale barn to get in line early and climbs in the sleeper for a five-hour nap until the sale is over and he has a load ready for him,” O’Byrne said.“Our concern is that the (electronic device) does not recognize the discretionary actions of the livestock driver as he performs his regular duty,” he said.
South Africa to Allow U.S. GM Corn Imports for First Time
Bloomberg | Posted on December 9, 2016South Africa approved imports of genetically modified corn from the U.S. for the first time after its worst drought since records began 104 years ago cut local output. Local white corn prices fell. The nation will allow both white and yellow GM corn from the U.S. to be brought in, Dirk Kok, a spokesman for the secretariat of the Pretoria-based South African Cereals and Oilseeds and Trade Association, said in an interview on Monday. A call to the government’s Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries media department wasn’t answered.“The door is open to imports from the U.S.,” said Kok, whose organization represents grain and oilseed traders. Local “prices will come down,” he said.
Delaware: winter application of fertilizer and manure regulated
Delaware Government | Posted on December 9, 2016Delaware farmers, lawn care companies, golf courses and other nutrient handlers should not apply nutrients to the ground during the winter months, the Delaware Department of Agriculture reminds applicators. Regulations adopted by the Delaware Nutrient Management Commission in 2007 prohibit certified nutrient handlers from applying commercial and manure-based fertilizer from December 7 to February 15, the time of year most vulnerable for nutrient runoff. Application may also not occur on snow-covered or frozen ground, or on impervious surfaces such as sidewalks, roads or other paved areas.“This approach protects nutrients from runoff during the winter and early spring, when we have the most precipitation, and helps keep Delaware waters clean,” said Nutrient Management Program Administrator Chris Brosch.