EWG: U.S. needs stronger, more focused conservation program
Voluntary soil and water conservation programs "aren't leading to clean water, clean air and a healthy environment," says the Environmental Working Group in unveiling a database that tracks federal conservation spending to the county level. EWG says Congress should require farmers to perform more stewardship work in exchange for farm supports, and focus scattershot conservation programs on the practices with the greatest payoff in the areas with the greatest need.
Farm groups offer to defray cost of fighting Des Moines lawsuit
Legal fees are already approaching $2 million in the potentially landmark suit by the Des Moines Water Works against three counties in northwest Iowa over nitrate pollution in the Raccoon River, says the Des Moines Register. The Iowa Farm Bureau and Iowa Corn Growers Association offered financial aid to Buena Vista, Sac and Calhoun counties following their decision to sever a relationship with the private nonprofit Agricultural Legal Defense Fund.
A foe of farm subsidies, think tank would remove food stamps from USDA
The conservative Heritage Foundation, which wants to eliminate crop subsidies and revenue insurance policies, also is gunning for food stamps, the largest federal anti-hunger program. In its recent "Blueprint for reform" paper, the foundation says control of food stamps should be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services and that Congress "should introduce work requirements" for able-bodied adults.
BLM doesn’t know what to do with 44,000 wild horses
The internet rumor that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would kill 44,000 wild horses and burros isn't exactly true — at least not yet. As the site Snopes.com reported, the BLM still has to vote on the suggestion by its advisory committee that the animals be euthanized, and opposition to the idea from outside groups has been vigorous.
Almonds gain bigger share of milk market
California is the U.S. leader in both dairy and almond production, and it illustrates the rise in popularity of almond milk while Americans are cutting back on milk from dairy cows, says Bloomberg. With a bit of a push from the multi-year drought, some dairy farmers are converting their fields to almond groves for a higher return per acre.
Bayer to buy Monsanto for $66 billion in a giant deal for seeds and ag chemicals
Two of the largest seed and agricultural chemical companies of the world, Bayer and Monsanto, will combine in a deal valued at $66 billion. Monsanto chief executive Hugh Grant said the merger, in which Bayer buys Monsanto for cash, will result in "an innovation engine that pairs Bayer’s crop protection portfolio with our world-class seeds and traits and digital agriculture tools to help growers overcome the obstacles of tomorrow."
Poverty rate falls nationally but not in rural areas
The U.S. poverty rate fell to 13.5 percent, down by 1.2 points from the previous year and the largest one-year decline since 1968, says the Census Bureau. But in rural areas, there was no significant change, with 16.7 percent of rural Americans living in poverty.
Forget what you heard: aquaculture isn’t evil
Aquaculture is a vital source of food for much of the developing world, not the evil stepchild of wild caught fish, said a panel of experts at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Food Institute in Monterey, Calif.
U.S. accuses China, its biggest ag customer, of unfair farm subsidies
China is the largest buyer of U.S. farm exports and also the target of 14 of 23 world trade complaints filed by the Obama administration. In a new case, the United States accuses China of paying unfairly large subsides to corn, wheat and rice growers, distorting the world market and hurting U.S. farmers.
Grain prices to remain low into 2017
The global grain glut and weaker demand from China will keep grain prices low into next year, according to analysts at Olam International, one of the world's largest commodities traders, reports Bloomberg.
Plastic: a ‘magnet for toxins’ in the ocean
In the ocean, plastic attracts other toxic substances to it, becoming all the more dangerous for marine and human health, said a panel of marine biologists and toxicologists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Food Institute in Monterey, Calif.
Cutting pesticides by getting them to ‘stick’ to plants
Researchers at MIT figured out a way to get pesticides to better adhere to plant leaves, cutting the amount they sprayed by 90 percent and yielding similar results, according to Modern Farmer.
When fishermen are slaves, labor audits mean nothing
“We found men in cages and being beaten,” said AP reporter Robin McDowell over Skype at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Food Institute in Monterey, Calif. McDowell, along with her colleagues, helped rescue more than 2,000 Southeast Asian men from slavery during a months-long investigation into labor abuses in the global fishing industry, especially in Indonesia and Hawaii.
Sugar industry swayed findings on coronary health risks for decades
Industry documents reveal that the sugar industry began working closely with nutrition scientists in the mid-1960s to single out fat and cholesterol as the dietary causes of coronary heart disease and to downplay evidence that sugar was also a risk factor, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Paper-based systems lead to seafood fraud
Many fishermen rely on an inefficient paper-based systems to record their catches, meaning the data are often inaccurate or purposefully corrupted, said a panel on seafood traceability at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Food Institute in Monterey, Calif.
Merger creates world’s largest crop-nutrient company
Two Canadian firms, Potash Corp. and Agrium Inc., announced that they will merge, creating the world's largest crop-nutrient company, according to The Associated Press. The new company will have 20,000 employees, a market value of $36 billion and annual revenue of $20.6 billion. A name will be chosen before the deal closes next year, said the AP.
Borneo’s ancient forests vanishing at faster rate due to palm oil
Study: U.S. teens trading sex for food
A new study by the Urban Institute, a D.C.-based think tank, found that kids in poor communities across the country are hungry enough to trade sex, sell drugs, and join gangs for food, reports The Guardian.
U.S. appeals court blocks disclosure of CAFO ownership
A U.S. court of appeals overturned a lower court ruling and blocked the disclosure of ownership information about concentrated animal feeding operations, Agri-Pulse reported. The appeals court determined that the EPA had violated the Freedom of Information Act by releasing personal information, including phone numbers and email addresses, of CAFOs.
Study: Neonics cause queen bees to lay fewer eggs
Queen honeybees fed syrup laced with the pesticide imidacloprid laid significantly fewer eggs—between a third and two-thirds as many—than unexposed bees, according to a report in EurekAlert on a new study published in the journal Science Reports.