Supply management wedge in Canada (iPolitics): In the race for leadership of the Conservative Party, a wedge issue was Canada’s supply management system for dairy, poultry and eggs; in the end, delegates at a policy convention in Halifax did not debate a resolution to end the system.
If it’s plant-based, will carnivores eat it? (AP): Food makers are leaning toward the description “plant-based” instead of “vegan” or “vegetarian” in hopes of appealing to a broader audience.
Conservation Reserve will get bigger (Minneapolis Star Tribune): Low commodity prices are boosting farmer interest in the land-idling Conservation Reserve at the same time the question for farm bill negotiators is how much additional land should be allowed into the reserve.
Climate change = More California fires (Sacramento Bee): A study released by state officials says climate change will mean a vast increase, roughly 500,000 acres, of land lost annually to wildfires, now around 720,000 acres.
For a short commute, live rural (Daily Yonder): Rural residents are more likely than city dwellers to spend less time driving to work, says a University of Minnesota study. Less than a quarter of rural residents spend half an hour or more in transit, while more than a third of metropolitan workers are in the car that long.
Less conservation on rented land (CARD): Chinese farmers were half as likely to adopt a key conservation practice called “straw retention” on rented farmland as on land they own, say five ISU researchers; results suggest China needs to address agricultural sustainability as it encourages a land rental market nationwide.