Coming soon? Windrows of dead, composting poultry
State and federal officials said they are looking for better ways to kill poultry flocks rapidly if bird flu hits the United States again, and that millions of fowl could be turned into compost or buried on the farms where they die.
Record yield expected for spring wheat in upper Midwest
The annual inspection tour of the spring wheat crop in North Dakota, northwestern Minnesota and northern South Dakota concluded on Thursday with forecasts of a record yield in the region. Sponsored by the Wheat Quality Council, the four-day tour forecast a record yield of 49.9 bushels an acre, topping last year's 48.6 bushels, says Agweek.
Senate bill would label GE salmon, block beef imports
Retailers would have to identify transgenic salmon as genetically engineered and imports of raw beef from Brazil and Argentina would be barred under the USDA/FDA funding bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Drought deepens in Pacific Northwest, heat blamed in fish kill
Topsoil and subsoil moisture levels continue to decline in the Pacific Northwest, where streamflows have shriveled to record or near-record lows, says the weekly Drought Monitor.
Quality, quantity of key crops imperiled by human impact
Changing environmental conditions around the world "could negatively impact the health of millions of people by altering the amount and quality of key crops," according to two studies from the Harvard School of Public Health.
One defendant freed in seed-corn theft case
U.S. Judge Stephanie Rose dismissed charges against a Chinese woman, Mo Yun, accused of conspiring to steal trade secrets from U.S. seed companies, said the Associated Press.
Analysts ask if crop insurance should be redesigned
The federally subsidized crop-insurance program grew dramatically over the past two decades. It covers 44 percent more acres and, with creation of revenue insurance, the average level of coverage climbed to 75 percent in 2014, a 17-point increase from 1996, according to economists Carl Zulauf of Ohio State and Dan Orden of Virginia Tech.
White House objects to USDA-FDA funding levels and riders
The USDA-FDA appropriations bill awaiting a vote in the Senate "short-changes food safety needs" and "under-funds efforts to address the challenge of child poverty" while carrying harmful "ideological provisions," said the White House budget office.
German agency backs safety of glyphosate
The widely used herbicide glyphosate "could get a new life in Europe after being deemed safe by a key assessment largely based on classified industry papers," says the Guardian.
Global population growth underlines hunger challenge
The world population will grow by one-third, to 9.7 billion people, by mid-century, the United Nations estimates. And with the population surging in poor countries, it will be harder to assure enough food for everyone.
U.S. grocer is first major chain to join Fair Food Program
Ahold USA, the parent company of grocery chains that include Giant and Stop and Shop, joined the Fair Food Program of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. The program's goal is to improve the conditions for farmworkers in Florida.
As California drought bill goes to Senate, the pressure is on Feinstein
One in four rural children lives in poverty
The child poverty rate in rural America grew to 26 percent in the decade following the 2000 Census, when it was 19 percent, says a USDA analysis. By comparison, the poverty rate for urban children is now 21 percent.
WHO cancer agency to assess red meat in October
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a WHO agency, plans a meeting from Oct. 6-13 in Lyon, France, to discuss red meat and processed meat.
At TPP, Canada discusses allowing more dairy imports
At the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks in Hawaii, "Canada has begun discussions with the United States on allowing more foreign dairy products into the Canadian market – among the thorniest issues for Ottawa" in the negotiations, says the Toronto Globe and Mail.
The tomato harvester, ketchup and the food movement
The mechanical tomato harvester, developed at UC-Davis, ranks as "a genuine breakthrough in the way that scientists thought about agricultural development," writes Ildi Carlisle-Cummins at Civil Eats.
Company uses methane from cow manure to make plastic
A small company in Costa Mesa, California, says it has found a cost-competitive way to make plastic from methane in cow manure, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Conaway opposes higher CFTC funding without reauthorization
The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee said he will oppose any increase in funding for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission until the agency, which oversees the futures exchanges and financial derivatives, is reauthorized.
Bird-flu epidemic raises questions about large-scale poultry farming
The bird-flu epidemic that claimed 48.1 million domesticated fowl on U.S. poultry farms "illustrates the scale of chicken farming in the United States," says the Guardian, asking if factory farming is viable.
U.S. agricultural productivity is strong now, but the future is uncertain
Along with the population, U.S. agricultural output has more than doubled since 1948, says a USDA report. "With little growth in total input use (0.07 percent per year) during that period, the extraordinary performance of the U.S. farm sector was driven mainly by productivity growth, at an annual rate of 1.42 percent," according to the report.