Millennial moms and dads are biggest bloc of organic shoppers
The 75 million members of the so-called millennial generation account for 23 percent of the U.S. population, and millennial moms and dads, parents who are 18-34 years old, are now the biggest consumers of organic products in the country, says the Organic Trade Association. A survey commissioned by OTA says half of the parents who buy organic are millennials.
Soda tax is on the agenda in Illinois’ most populous county
The president of the Cook County Board proposed a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary beverages — soft drinks, sports and energy drinks, and juices that aren't 100 percent fruit — to close a $174-million budget gap in the county that includes Chicago and 40 percent of Illinoisans. Like Philadelphia Mayor James Kenney, board president Toni Preckwinkle says the levy is fiscal tool.
CA governor signs law to help small-scale seed exchanges
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed an amendment to the California Seed Law, exempting “non-commercial seed sharing activities from industrial labeling, testing, and permitting requirements,” says Shareable.
Canada’s carbon tax could take a toll on farms
Canada’s new tax on carbon, set to start at C$10 in 2018 and reach C$50 by 2022, could hurt the country’s farmers and fertilizer companies, says Reuters. Canada is in one of the world’s biggest grain-producers. But at C$50, the tax “would raise fertilizer prices by C$2 per acre for Canadian farmers, and some experts peg the total farm cost at C$6 an acre, according to the CIBC bank.”
U.S. farm groups tell Senate they can support big ag mergers
Since World War Two, the U.S. food supply has come from a network of fewer but larger farms. And the groups representing those highly mechanized operations told the Senate Judiciary Committee that they could accept, with sufficient safeguards, mergers that would convert the six largest seed and agricultural chemical companies into a "big three."
Political chatter again taps Ross as potential agriculture secretary
California Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross and former two-term Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear are among three leading candidates for agriculture secretary if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, says The Hagstrom Report. It was apparently the first time Beshear has been tabbed as a potential nominee; Ross has been mentioned repeatedly by ag lobbyists and in published reports as a contender.
Lawsuit asks $5 billion for corn farmers, says Syngenta
Seed company Syngenta wants the U.S. appeals court in Denver to intervene in a class-action lawsuit, prompted by China's rejection of cargoes that included a GMO variety not approved for import.
One in five households with children face food hardship
Families with children are more likely to face hardship in obtaining enough food year-round than households without them, says the anti-hunger Food Research and Action Center. Based on a Gallup survey, FRAC estimated that 20 percent of households with children nationwide suffers food hardship.
Owner of first certified organic restaurant in U.S. is retiring
Nearing her 73rd birthday, Nora Pouillon, owner of the first U.S. restaurant to be certified organic, has decided to sell her business and retire, reports the Washington Post. It says the self-taught Pouillon, and the restaurant named after her, inspired "a generation of chefs to shop locally for high-quality ingredients."
Re-thinking crop choice and land use to overcome climate change
Climate change is likely to reduce yields of major crops such as corn, wheat and rice on a large fraction of the world's cropland by mid-century, says a team of researchers from the University of Birmingham in Britain. "Large shifts in land-use patterns and crop choice will likely be necessary to sustain production growth rates and keep pace with demand," say the researchers in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications.
Plowing through competitors, a tractor-hailing app in India
When they need to rent a tractor, small farmers in India typically have to rely on local owners, who may be arbitrary in their fees and cavalier in their treatment of their customers. A major Indian vehicle manufacturer offers the agricultural version of Uber or Lyft — a smartphone app to specify when they need a tractor and for what chores, says the New York Times.
California watchdog sues Dow over cancer-causing pesticide
The Center of Environmental Health, a national watchdog group, has filed a lawsuit against Dow Chemical, because of the cancer risks related to its pesticide Telone, also known as 1,3-D. “Telone ... is a known carcinogen that pollutes dozens of rural areas throughout California; it is the third most heavily used pesticide in the state, and has been found to linger in the air for days after application," says a CEH press release.
Land-clearing a factor in fires that led to 100,000 deaths
More than 100,000 people died prematurely because of smoke and haze created by vast forest fires, mainly in Indonesia, last year, said the New York Times, pointing to research by two U.S. universities. The blazes destroyed more than 10,000 square miles of forests and began with fires intended "to clear land for palm oil plantations and other uses," said the newspaper.
Farm groups keep up pressure for TPP vote
Congressional leaders have said repeatedly that they won't call the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement for a vote in the post-election session, but farm groups are undeterred in pushing for action, said Feedstuffs. "The TPP has huge potential benefits for soybean farmers," said Richard Wilkins, president of the American Soybean Association, both in exports and in higher domestic demand for livestock feed to satisfy the growing foreign demand for meat.
Global ag research system faces upheaval in funding, focus, partners
Credited with saving hundreds of millions of people from hunger, international ag research organizations will need to change their focus, funding base and partnerships to survive in coming years, says economist Derek Byerlee in a paper prepared for the 50th anniversary of one of the groups.
Time is short for USDA to flex its antitrust muscle with meat industry
In the closing months of his tenure as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack is making one last stab at being a trustbuster. Late last week, the USDA quietly moved forward with an effort to strengthen its antitrust authority over the handful of companies that dominate America’s meat system. The action raised hopes for advocates who have pushed for years to toughen antitrust laws, and it already has met resistance from meat companies and their lobbyists. What’s less clear is whether the action will have any meaningful impact.
Biodiesel industry asks for extension of tax credit
The $1 per gallon tax credit for biodiesel blenders is due to expire at the end of the year, along with four dozen tax breaks that were extended for a year or two by law makers. Biofuel and farm groups signed a letter asking Congress for a multiyear extension before it adjourns for fall campaigning, said DTN.
Aerial survey says hog farms may escape catastrophic damage in North Carolina flooding
Inspectors found flooding of some manure lagoons in eastern North Carolina, but their aerial inspection "did not show any confirmed breaches or overtopping," says the state Department of Environmental Quality. Environmental groups say the floods, a result of Hurricane Matthew, are a severe test of whether large-scale livestock farms, producing millions of hogs and broiler chickens a year, can keep animal waste from mixing with storm water.
As farm income slumps, debate over the future
If there was any doubt, the agricultural boom ended in red ink for relatively large-scale Illinois farmers last year — an average loss of $2,971 per farm just one year after they notched a net farm income of $107,290, say three University of Illinois economists. Low crop prices were the culprit in Illinois, and across the nation, with comparatively low farm income expected for several years to come.
Dual challenge for agriculture: Fight climate change while adapting to it
Farmers, foresters, fishers and graziers generate one-fifth of the world's greenhouse gases, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in its annual State of Food and Agriculture report. FAO says the chief message of the 2016 edition is, "Agriculture must both contribute more to combating climate change while bracing to overcome its impacts."