AgClips
Recent AgClips
Coal's demise threatens Appalachian miners, companies as production moves West
USA Today | Posted onApril 21, 2016 in NewsThe crushing forces prevailing against the U.S. coal industry have triggered an unprecedented shakeout, sparking bankruptcies of the industry’s biggest players — such as last week's collapse of Peabody Energy — and battering jobs in Appalachia even as mines in the west weather the fallout.
DuPont Pioneer plans to market gene-edited CRISPR corn, USDA will not regulate it as a GMO
Genetic Literacy Project | Posted onApril 21, 2016 in NewsDuPont Pioneer announced plans to market the first crop that uses a type of precise genetic modification called CRISPR-Cas9. DuPont . . . wants to see the product — a hybrid type of corn — in farmers’ fields as early as 2021. The US Department of Agriculture has said that it will not subject the CRISPR corn to the same rules as traditional GMOs.
USDA officials diagnose rural America's needs
agri-pulse | Posted onApril 21, 2016 in Rural NewsAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack described the depth of poverty in rural America at a Farm Foundation Forum Monday, while at a separate meeting, Lisa Mensah, his top assistant on rural development, called for increased access to broadband as a way to give an economic boost to underserved communities.
Vilsack, speaking at the National Press Club, stressed the importance of targeting USDA resources in rural counties that are persistently impoverished - where at least 20 percent of the county's population has been living in poverty for the last 30 years or more.
New Food Safety Law Gives States a Big Role
Pew Trust | Posted onApril 21, 2016 in Federal NewsWith the most extensive food safety regulations in history set to take effect soon, state agriculture officials across the country are preparing to enforce the federal law, but say their ability to inspect farms and enforce the new standards depends on the receipt of promised federal funds.
Metro Areas Gain Jobs at Faster Rate than Rural
Daily Yonder | Posted onApril 21, 2016 in Rural NewsFrom February 2015 to February 2016, unemployment remained higher in nonmetropolitan areas. The rural heartland did better than the South or the eastern coalfields.
Local Foods and Farm Business Survival and Growth
USDA | Posted onApril 21, 2016 in NewsData from the 2007 and 2012 Agricultural Censuses show that farmers who market food directly to consumers have a greater chance of remaining in business than similarly sized farms who market through traditional channels.
While farmers who directly market to consumers are more likely to continue farming than those who do not, their businesses expand at a slower rate.
Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices
USDA | Posted onApril 21, 2016 in Federal NewsThis proposed rule would create greater consistency in organic livestock and poultry practices. AMS has determined that the current USDA organic regulations (7 CFR Part 205) covering livestock health care practices and living conditions need additional specificity and clarity to better ensure consistent compliance by certified organic operations and to provide for more effective administration of the National Organic Program (NOP) by AMS.
Why fighting climate change won't destroy the economy
Desert Sun | Posted onApril 21, 2016 in NewsAs the reality of human-caused climate change has become harder to deny, opponents of climate action have adopted a new talking point. Replacing fossil fuels with clean energy, they say, would devastate the American economy, sending electricity prices through the roof, forcing people to abandon their cars and putting millions of people out of work.
Roadmaps for everystate to renewable energy
Stanford | Posted onApril 21, 2016 in Energy NewsThis study presents roadmaps for each of the 50 United States to convert their all-purpose energy systems (for electricity, transportation, heating/cooling, and industry) to ones powered entirely by wind, water, and sunlight (WWS). The plans contemplate 80–85% of existing energy replaced by 2030 and 100% replaced by 2050. C
At Tampa Bay farm-to-table restaurants, you’re being fed fiction
Tampa Bay Times | Posted onApril 21, 2016 in NewsThis is a story we are all being fed. A story about overalls, rich soil and John Deere tractors scattering broods of busy chickens. A story about healthy animals living happy lives, heirloom tomatoes hanging heavy and earnest artisans rolling wheels of cheese into aging caves nearby. More often than not, those things are fairy tales. A long list of Tampa Bay restaurants are willing to capitalize on our hunger for the story. “Well, we serve local within reason.” What makes buying food different from other forms of commerce is this: It’s a trust-based system.