Fuel made from ‘forest residuals’ powers Seattle-to-DC flight
Using a 20 percent blend of alternative jet fuel produced from wood, Alaska Airlines sent a passenger flight across the United States from Seattle to Washington's National Airport in a breakthrough for bio-energy. The airline said the alternative fuel, made from "forest residuals" remaining after timbering, produces from 50-80 percent fewer greenhouse gases than petroleum fuel when calculated on a life-cycle basis.
Out West, scientists fight invasive grass with soil bacteria
Backed by the Department of the Interior, scientists are experimenting with soil bacteria to kill off one of the West’s biggest botanical invaders: cheatgrass. After identifying which naturally-occurring soil bacteria are capable of killing cheatgrass in the spring, before it puts out seeds, researchers are conducting tests on plots in Idaho.
Stagnant wages and higher injury rates for workers in U.S. food chain
One of every seven American workers, 21.5 million in all, are employed in the food system, which recovered relatively quickly from the 2008-09 recession. But the "workers themselves have not seen positive changes," says a new report. "Poor working conditions, below-average wages and discriminatory and abusive practices are commonplace across the food chain."
In the spotlight for 2018 Senate races: Agriculture Committee members
One-third of the 23 Democratic senators facing re-election in 2018 sit on the Agriculture Committee, including the panel's top Democrat, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, a stalwart defender of food stamps in the final negotiations for the 2014 farm law. President-elect Donald Trump carried four of the states where Ag Committee Democrats will have to decide soon whether to run for another term, a sign of Republican strength.
Record wheat crop propels Russia to No. 1 exporter
Wheat production in Russia is up 20 percent this year, allowing the world's No. 3 grower to move into to exporter spot. The monthly World Agricultural Production report says Russia reaped a record 72 million tonnes of wheat this year, thanks to a record average yield per hectare.
Plenty of turkey for holiday meals
The bird-flu epidemic cut into turkey supplies a year ago, but there are no supply issues this year, said Feedstuffs. Turkey production in the current quarter is forecast up by 100 million pounds compared to the same three months in 2015, according to the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC).
U.S. farmland values to fall 20 percent in ‘moderate repricing’
MetLife Agricultural Finance says low corn and soybean prices are constraining farm income and will lead to the "first significant correction" in farmland values since the agricultural recession of the mid-1980s, reported Agrimoney. The lender forecast land prices to fall 20 percent by 2018 from their recent peak.
Rural and urban vote becomes more polarized
The split in Republican and Democratic support in U.S. cities versus rural America widened as Donald Trump won the presidency, says the Daily Yonder. Trump garnered 66 percent of the vote in rural counties, up by five points from fellow Republican Mitt Romney in 2012, while Democrat Hillary Clinton got a much smaller share of the rural vote, 29 percent, than President Obama's 38 percent in his 2012 re-election.
With Trump in office, will China become world’s hope for confronting climate change?
Under a Trump administration, China could become the world champion for climate change reform, says Reuters: “China worked closely with the administration of outgoing President Barack Obama to build momentum ahead of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. The partnership of the two biggest greenhouse gas emitters helped get nearly 200 countries to support the pact at the historic meet in France's capital.”
‘There’s a lot more uncertainty’ as Trump era nears, says NFU leader
In 10 weeks, Donald Trump will become president and "there's a lot more uncertainty" about his plans for food and agriculture policy than normally accompanies an incoming administration, says president Roger Johnson of the National Farmers Union. "We know a fair amount of what he's against and less of what he's for."
Was right-to-farm amendment an over-reach in Oklahoma?
The proposed right-to-farm amendment to Oklahoma's constitution "was a little bit of a gamble and the gamble didn't pay off" in the view of agribusiness professor Derrell Peel of Oklahoma State University, says AgWeb. Voters rejected the amendment by a 3-to-2 margin in a rebuff of the farm and ranch sector last week.
Midwest farmland values dip again in longest decline in three decades
Study: Climate change has already disrupted every aspect of life on earth
Cook County gets 1-cent-per-ounce soda tax on a tie-breaking vote
The newest locality to approve a tax on sugary beverages is also the largest — Cook County, home to 5.2 million people including the city of Chicago. The Cook County Board approved the 1-cent-per-ounce tax on a 9-8 vote with board president Toni Preckwinkle breaking a tie, said the Chicago Tribune.
World food prices tick upward for third month in a row
Sharply higher prices for cheese, butter and sugar pushed up the FAO Food Price Index by 0.7 percent, continuing an unbroken rise from July. The index, which tracks prices for five groups of foods, has been on the rise throughout this year and is now 9 percent higher than one year ago.
LA lost out on $6 million in rent from city fairgrounds, say auditors
The future of ‘meat’: A Q&A with Bruce Friedrich
Bruce Friedrich is executive director of the Good Food Institute, which collaborates with scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors to develop and promote plant-based alternatives to meat, milk and eggs. FERN’s Kristina Johnson called Friedrich to ask him about the future of plant-based proteins.
After voting heavily for Trump, rural America wants to change his mind
President-elect Donald Trump carried almost all of the farm states, from the Carolinas across the Midwest into the Plains, rolling up a 2-to-1 margin against Democrat Hillary Clinton with promises of lower taxes and less regulation. Farm groups, with a politically conservative membership, said they hoped to educate him on the importance of exports for farm prosperity.
Climate talks in Morocco disturbed, but not unhinged, by Trump’s election
News of Donald Trump’s election shocked the international climate-change proceedings taking place this week in Marrakech, Morocco. During his campaign, Trump vowed to revoke America’s participation in the Paris Agreement, a global plan to keep temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial averages. More than 190 countries have signed the agreement, and many consider it a last hope for fighting climate change. Trump has also vowed to dismantle President Obama’s clean power plan.
Mammoth U.S. crops get larger still, exceed domestic and export demand
For the third month in a row, the USDA said the record-setting U.S. corn and soybean crops are bigger than expected. At 15.2 billion bushels, the corn crop is roughly a billion bushels larger than the 2014 record and the soybean crop, now pegged at 4.36 billion bushels, is 10-percent larger than the previous mark, also set in 2014.