House passes disaster bill to aid Florida farmers, revamp cotton and dairy supports
The House passed an $81-billion disaster relief bill that includes $3.8 billion for farmers and ranchers, with Florida expected to get a large share of that money, said The Hill newspaper.
China wants less trash in U.S. soybean imports
The No. 1 soybean importer in the world, China, is toughening its standards for imported U.S. soybeans, a step that may cut into the U.S. share of the market, said Reuters.
At cross purposes: Urban agriculture and an ‘agrihood’ in Detroit
The Oakland Avenue Farmers’ Market in Detroit sells fresh-grown food every Saturday “in a historically low-income and black neighborhood where such options aren’t readily available,” says the Detroit Metro Times. Now it's facing competition from the Michigan Urban Farm Initiative, which gives away produce each Saturday.
Climate and culture change threaten New Mexico’s ancient irrigation canals
For hundreds of years, a network of earthen canals that ribbon through New Mexico have been central to a thriving small-farm scene and a communal way of life. But those canals, called acequias, and the way of life they support, are being pushed to the brink by a changing climate, a development boom, and the imperatives of the modern economy, says Alexis Adams in FERN's latest story, published with The Weather Channel. (No paywall)
State contractors can handle food stamp data, says USDA
In a step to ease state agency handling of social services programs, the USDA announced that contractors can “provide basic case-specific information” about food stamp applications — work that is usually handled by civil servants.
Cellulosic ethanol looks more like a demonstration project than an industry
Corn ethanol represents the first generation of biofuels. Cellulosic ethanol, made from grass, woody plants, and crop debris, was supposed to be the second generation.
Trump says tax bill mostly ‘wiped out’ the estate tax
During a half-hour “bill passage event” that resembled a pep rally for the Republican-written and -passed tax bill, President Trump said farmers and small-business owners will benefit because “for the most part, [the] estate tax is wiped out.”
Avocado groves suffer in Thomas fire in California
In a preliminary estimate, Ventura County agriculture commissioner Henry Gonzalez said two-thirds of the 10,000 acres of county farmland burned by the Thomas fire are avocado groves, reported The Packer.
Will commodity prices go up or down in 2018? Yes, say analysts.
Goldman Sachs said agricultural commodity prices are on course for a fourth year of decline, with corn prices at the end of 2018 running 33 cents a bushel below the current futures price for December 2018 delivery, said Agrimoney.
U.S. judge declares mistrial against Bundy, new trial next year
Federal prosecutors “willfully” failed to share evidence with lawyers defending Cliven Bundy and two sons, who are on trial for an April 2014 armed standoff, ruled U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro, the Los Angeles Times reported.
House disaster bill includes aid to Florida growers — and a food stamp cut
The $81-billion disaster bill written by House Republicans includes $3.8 billion in disaster relief for farmers and ranchers, with Florida expected to get a large part of the money.
Debating the differences between gene-edited crops, GMOs, ‘accelerated breeding technology’
Thomas Stoddard used this pitch — “You make a little more money, you have a great experience, and you are part of a revolution” — when he recruited farmers to plant a gene-edited soybean variety that yields a healthier oil, says the MIT Technology Review.
Longer, warmer growing seasons in U.S. Northeast
Climate change is bringing a longer and warmer growing season to the Northeast along with heavy rainfall that can delay spring planting, says a study led by Cornell scientists.
China and U.S. dance a sorghum samba
China is the world’s No. 1 sorghum importer, and its appetite for livestock feed is driving up U.S. sorghum prices, according to the USDA’s monthly Grain: World Markets and Trade report.
I work for Tokyo Metro. I grow vegetables.
Under the name of “Tokyo Salad,” the Japanese subway operator Tokyo Metro is growing lettuce, salad greens, and herbs in a hydroponic warehouse under an elevated section of its Tozai Line, said the Mainichi newspaper.
FDA sniffs at snortable chocolate
Nutrition professor and food author Marion Nestle says the FDA dropped the hammer on the promoters of “snortable Coco Loko ... cocoa powder infused with caffeine, ginkgo, taurine, and guarani.”
Trump to be first president to speak at Farm Bureau meeting in 26 years
Breaking a quarter-century gap, President Trump will be the first U.S. chief executive since George H.W. Bush to address the annual convention of the nation’s largest farm organization, the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Tax bill’s benefits for agriculture will be mostly temporary
The tax bill written by the Republican-controlled Congress would deliver “near-term benefits to many ag producers, but rate reductions and estate tax changes beneficial to ag are temporary” and bring the risk of higher taxes in the future, says the accounting firm K-Coe Isom.
Glyphosate not likely to cause cancer in people, says EPA
A draft human health risk assessment of the most widely used weedkiller in the world concludes that glyphosate is not likely to be a human cancer agent, says the Environmental Protection Agency.
As producers boost livestock output, prices will soften
Cattle, hog, and broiler chicken producers should expect lower market prices during the first half of 2018 than they saw during the first six months of this year, said USDA economists.