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SARL Members and Alumni News

California limits pet store sales of cats, dogs and rabbits to rescue or shelter animals only

CNN | Posted on January 2, 2019

California pet stores soon will be allowed to sell dogs, cats and rabbits only if they come from shelters or non-profit rescue organizations.Under legislation going into effect on January 1, store operators also will have to be able to provide records of origin for the animals or face a $500 penalty per animal.The Pet Rescue and Adoption Act was introduced by assembly member Patrick O'Donnell and signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown in October 2017.Under the law, individuals are still allowed to buy from private breeders, but stores are prohibited from doing so.


Lieutenant Governor-elect Lynn Rogers encouraged by Kansas House’s rural development panel

WIBW | Posted on January 2, 2019

Democratic Lieutenant Governor-elect Lynn Rogers says he’s encouraged that the Kansas House has formed a new Rural Revitalization Committee and looks forward to working with its Republican chairman. Rogers will lead an Office of Rural Prosperity once he and Democratic Governor-elect Laura Kelly take office on January 14th.  The office will promote rural areas, develop policies for serving them and work to ensure that state agencies’ efforts line up with rural communities’ needs.The House committee will examine problems facing rural areas that include declining populations and limited access to broadband service.  Rogers said, “The broader the discussion, the more beneficial it will be.”


New Residency Program Aims to Keep Doctors in Rural Southeast

Daily Yonder | Posted on January 2, 2019

Boris Calderon was not your typical medical student. At 45 years old, the Army veteran lived in Fayetteville and worked as a paramedic when he applied for only one medical school: a college of osteopathic medicine in Virginia. And when Calderon finished medical school and was looking for a post-graduate residency program in 2015, Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton was beginning its program for medical residents. He signed up and was part of the first graduating class earlier this year. Calderon found the residency at Southeastern to be extremely hands on. He said by the time the syllabus indicated that his class should start doing admissions, they had already done 500. So the students requested more learning time in the ICU and staff granted their request.And when it came time for graduation this spring, Calderon knew where he wanted to be. He already lived locally and decided to remain at Southeastern Regional as a hospitalist.


McDowell to head Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

The Sault News | Posted on January 2, 2019

Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday that she has filled a wide range of cabinet members and department heads in preparation for her official swearing-in ceremony. That announcement included a familiar name for many in the Eastern Upper Peninsula as lifelong Rudyard resident Gary McDowell has been tapped to head the incoming administration’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.Gary, along with brothers, Bob and Ron, are the owners and operators of McDowell Brothers Farm and McDowell Hay, Inc. He cut his political teeth here — serving 22 years on the Chippewa County Board of Commissioners before venturing to Lansing as the State Rep. for the 107th District. McDowell served six years in that capacity and left that post due to term limits.“A lifelong farmer and public servant, Gary has a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing our state’s agricultural industry as well as critical insights on rural development opportunities throughout Michigan,” said Whitmer in announcing this appointment.


Does a state have a right to tell farmers in other states how to grow their food?

The American Spectator | Posted on December 27, 2018

Thirteen states suing Massachusetts filed a brief petitioning the U.S. Supreme to hear their case this week. “This case affects every producer, distributor, and consumer of eggs, pork, and veal in the country, and it implicates fundamental constitutional principles of horizontal federalism and interstate comity,” the brief filed on Wednesday reads. “The Court should hear it.”The brief pertains to whether the Bay State’s animal cruelty law impinges on the rights of other states under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause. A 2016 state ballot question, which passed by a greater than 3-to-1 margin, prohibits Massachusetts businesses from selling pork, shelled eggs, or veal from “any farm owner or operator … knowingly confining any breeding pig, calf raised for veal, or egg-laying hen in a way that prevents the animal from lying down, standing up, fully extending its limbs, or turning around freely.”The litigation concerns not Massachusetts regulations pertaining to in-state farmers but prohibitions on Massachusetts restaurants or stores buying products from out-of-state farmers who do not abide by Massachusetts law. Farmers impacted by laws passed beyond their state borders regard edicts as coastal states invested in agriculture more as consumers than producers dictating to heartland states more economically dependent on farming how they should conduct their business.


Southwestern US states close to sealing drought deal

Capital Press | Posted on December 24, 2018

Water managers from seven Southwestern states that depend on the Colorado River for drinking and irrigation water are getting closer to finalizing an unprecedented drought contingency plan they may have to enact in 2020, officials said. The federal government's top water official, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman, was expected to urge action by representatives of Indian tribes and government agencies from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming during an address at an annual conference in Las Vegas.A pact was supposed to be signed by the end of 2018, under threat that the bureau that controls the water distribution levers on the river would impose its own restrictions affecting drinking water to 40 million people and irrigation for crops in arid parts of U.S. and Mexico.Arizona and Nevada would be the first states to feel the pinch if a shortage is declared as expected next year. Supplies to California also could be curtailed. he Lower Colorado River Basin states of California, Arizona and Nevada want to keep Lake Mead behind Hoover Dam above a shortage declaration trigger point by using less water than they're legally entitled to receive.If the lake falls below that level, Arizona will face a 9 percent reduction in water supply, Nevada a 3 percent cut and California up to 8 percent. Mexico's share of river water also would be reduced.Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming want to keep the surface of Lake Powell above a target level to continue water deliveries to irrigation districts and cities and also keep hydroelectric turbines humming at Glen Canyon Dam.


Bills would classify large Oregon dairies 'industrial'

Capital Press | Posted on December 21, 2018

Large dairies would be classified as industrial facilities and subject to new restrictions under two bills to be considered by Oregon lawmakers next year. At a Dec. 12 work session, the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources voted 4-2 to introduce the two bills during next year’s legislative session along with a bevy of other “legislative concepts.”Both pieces of legislation would apply to dairies with more than 2,500 cows, or 700 cows if they don’t have access to pasture.If they were reclassified as industrial facilities, such dairies would be stripped of protections under Oregon’s “right to farm” law, which prohibits local governments from imposing restrictions on farms. The statute also bans lawsuits alleging nuisance or trespass against farms.The two bills were prompted by the regulatory problems at Lost Valley Farm, a large dairy in Boardman that’s been cited for a multitude of wastewater violations since it began operating last year, said Ivan Maluski, policy director for Friends of Family Farmers, a nonprofit that supports strong dairy regulations.


Wetlands, lakes would lose protections under Michigan bill

Washington Post | Posted on December 21, 2018

Michigan legislators were poised Tuesday to remove legal protections from many of the state’s wetlands and other inland waterways, which provide wildlife habitat and perform vital tasks such as preventing floods. A bill approved by a House committee would eliminate a requirement to obtain state permits before dredging, filling or otherwise degrading many waterways.A floor vote was expected Wednesday. If approved, the measure would be returned to the Senate, which previously approved it, for consideration of minor changes made by the House.At least 550,000 acres of wetlands would be vulnerable under the proposal, according to an analysis by the state Department of Environmental Quality. Also losing protection would be 4,200 of Michigan’s 11,000 lakes.Those totals could jump significantly because the measure also would tie Michigan’s definition of regulated waters to federal policy, which President Donald Trump’s administration this month proposed weakening. Up to 3 million acres of wetlands — nearly half of the state’s total — no longer would be shielded if the proposed Trump regulation takes effect, along with 21,600 of Michigan’s 36,000 miles of streams, the DEQ said.


Nevada legislature first in US with majority women

Las Vegas Sun | Posted on December 20, 2018

The first majority-female legislature in the country will convene in Carson City in February after a series of recent appointments. The Nevada Legislature will have 32 women and 31 men, with 23 women in the 42-member Assembly and nine in the 21-member Senate.


Wisconsin Dairy Task Force Proposing Changes To Loans, Education In Dairy Industry

Wisconsin Public Radio | Posted on December 20, 2018

Wisconsin's Dairy Task Force recently passed two proposals aimed at shoring up the state's dairy industry, which is losing hundreds of farms each year. We talk to the director of the task force about why loans to farmers and more funding for education and research are considered so important. Nine subcommittees presented their findings at the meeting, and two brought forward proposals to boost farmers and stimulate innovation in the industry. On a vote, both proposals passed. The first proposal would create a new loan guarantee program to ensure farmers and dairy producers can take out loans without fear of financial ruin. The program would draw on existing agricultural loan programs that guarantee set dollar amounts or percentages through the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development, or WHEDA. Some proposed changes include bumping the percentage WHEDA and the lending institutions guarantee from 50 to 90 percent and increasing the pool of money available in case a dairy producer defaults on loans (proponents say the rate of default on guaranteed loans is low).


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