New York dairy farmers dropped (Dairy Herd): Marcus Dairy, a fluid milk processor in Connecticut, dropped 52 New York dairy farmers from their contracts, joining a national trend of processors dropping farmers as the dairy crisis continues.
Heirs’ property law passed in Iowa (Wallaces Farmer): Iowa passed a new heirs’ property law, which will make it much less likely for co-tenants to be forced to sell their land.
Iowa Farm Bureau’s full coffers (Des Moines Register): Iowa’s Farm Bureau chapter has an operating budget twice the size of the national Farm Bureau, much of which comes from its for-profit insurance arm.
Missouri CAFO approved, community fights back (Powell Gardens): Despite weeks of protest from residents of Lone Jack, Missouri, the state’s Department of Natural Resources approved a new cattle CAFO in the community. Now, a local nonprofit is filing an appeal in a new attempt to halt the industrial farm.
Ag panelist Casey safe in Pennsylvania (Sabato’s Crystal Ball): Democrat Bob Casey, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has double-digit leads in public opinion polls and a $9 million advantage in campaign funds over Republican Lou Barletta for re-election. The race is now rated “safe Democratic” previously, it was “likely Democratic.
One Pruitt email in 10 months (Politico): After obtaining EPA records through FOIA, watchdog groups are skeptical that Administrator Scott Pruitt wrote only one email to anyone outside of EPA in his first 10 months in office.
Canadian group asks, where are GMO test plots? (NFU): Following discovery of rogue GMO wheat plants in Alberta, the National Farmers Union of Canada asked the government to release the location of all ongoing and past field trials of GMO wheat “so that farmers and others can be on the look-out for escapes.”
A religious test for meatpackers (CNN): Conservative Rep. Steve King of Iowa, the No. 1 hog state, said in a radio interview that he opposed the employment of Somali Muslims in pork processing plants.
UK limits on salty, fatty, sugary foods (Guardian): To combat obesity that is making Britain the fattest country in Europe, the government will introduce legislation to ban grocers from offering “two for one” deals near the checkout aisle for foods high in salt, fat or sugar.