Marginal shift toward corn likely in 2016
Persistently low commodity prices "might result in a marginal increase in corn acreage and a marginal decrease in soybean acreage in the coming year, said economist Darrel Good of U-Illinois.
Varroa mite count suggests hard winter for bees
An evaluation of bee hives found a dangerously high level of Varroa mites, a honeybee pest that is blamed in part for calamitous declines in the bee population, says Agri-Pulse, citing a blog by a Bayer scientist.
In Alaska, a tussle over a state-owned meat plant
"Farmers across Alaska are fighting to keep a state-run slaughterhouse from closing its doors," reports KTUU-TV in Anchorage. Mt. McKinley Meats and Sausage, one of only three meat-processing plants in Alaska, operates with a workforce from the state prison system.
Peterson, Graham on retirement watch list
Two Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee, Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Gwen Graham of Florida, are being watched as potential retirees from Congress, political strategists tell Roll Call.
Farm groups, lenders press for tax ‘extenders’ bill
Heavy lobbying by agribusiness for TPP
The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, covering 12 Pacific Rim nations with 40 percent of the world economy, "has drawn heavy lobbying from some of America's largest agribusinesses," says the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.
FDA sets food safety rules for produce farms
Fruit and vegetable growers will have as long as six years to comply with a landmark FDA rule that, for the first time, sets food safety standards for produce farms.
Small California rice crop part of U.S. slump
California growers will record their smallest rice crop in 17 years as U.S. production fell by 14 percent this year, says the monthly Rice Outlook report.
Taco Bell to use only cage-free eggs by 2017
Fast-food chain Taco Bell said its “more than 6,000 U.S. corporate and franchise-owned restaurants will exclusively serve cage-free eggs by December 31, 2016."
EPA prohibits sale of pesticide sulfoxaflor
In the wake of an appellate court decision, the EPA barred the sale or distribution in the U.S. of sulfoxaflor, a pesticide used on produce but toxic to honeybees.
Vilsack: U.S. ag exports could be ‘very competitive’ in Cuba
At the end of the first official USDA visit to Cuba since 1961, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said U.S. farm and food products could gain a significant share of the island's $2 billion food-import market, reports the Des Moines Register.
Dour farm and ranch outlook in Midwest and Plains
Farm income and agricultural land values are headed downward in the final three months of the year, bankers said in surveys by the Kansas City, Chicago and St Louis Federal Reserve Banks, which cover most of the Midwest and the Plains. The Dallas Federal Reserve said lenders in its district in the southern Plains also expect land values to slip in the final quarter of the year.
Cotton, “the fabric of our lives,” seeks oilseed subsidy
Congress rewrote the cotton program in the 2014 farm law to resolve a WTO ruling that U.S. subsidies distorted world trade. In doing so, it replaced the longtime subsidy program with revenue insurance and loans, reflecting the industry's wishes.
Rural residents “left behind” in cancer screening
"Poor, minority and rural residents are left behind" in cancer screenings, says USA Today, "and experts say there's no excuse." The newspaper said it worked with the American Association of Central Cancer Registries to see where deaths from cancer exceed the rates expected for how often it strikes. "States faring worst include Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama, causing untold suffering and pushing up health costs for everyone," says the story says.
USDA to spend $4 million for monarch butterfly habitat
Monarch butterfly populations have dwindled over the years, so USDA is launching a project to create and enhance habitat for the iconic butterfly in 10 states in the southern Plains and the Midwest, says Jason Weller, chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. It's a voluntary program, Weller writes in a USDA blog.
Drugmaker Merck buys innovator Harrisvaccines
Merck Animal Health, part of global pharmaceutical giant Merck, is buying privately owned Harrisvaccines, the companies said in a joint announcement. Merck said it has a "robust portfolio of vaccines across all animal species" and Harrisvaccines' specialty of vaccines for food-bearing animals and pets would strengthen the Merck line.
More than one-third of adults in U.S. are obese
More than one-third of adult Americans - 36 percent - are obese and so are 17 percent of youth, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a "Data Brief," the agency says there was no significant change in rates over the past couple of years after a steep climb in the early 2000s. Obesity is associated with chronic disease such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Sam Farr, House ag appropriator, to retire in 2016
The top Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee overseeing USDA and FDA will retire in 2016, said Roll Call, noting the district is solidly Democratic so there Farr's departure will not affect control of the House. A former Peace Corps volunteer, Farr was elected to the House in 1993 in a special election. Roll Call described the 20th House District, which includes Salinas, Santa Cruz and Monterey, as " the 'salad bowl' of California, a big agricultural center in the state."
GMO crops – rapid adoption, perennial dispute
Looking back nearly two decades to the commercial introduction of GMO crops in 1996, Monsanto executive vice president Robb Fraley says the avid adoption by farmers of the technology exceeded his expectations. "They've been the fastest-adopted tool in the history of agriculture," Fraley told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He also said, "I wouldn’t have believed in 1980 (the dawn of genetic engineering) that we’d still be talking about GMO crops and still having some of the controversies that we face today."
European panel says glyphosate unlikely to cause cancer
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which advises EU policy makers, says glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, is unlikely to cause cancer in humans, said Reuters. The finding is contrary to the conclusion of WHO's cancer agency in March that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto's herbicide Roundup, is "probably carcinogenic to humans."