Haley vowed Saturday to veto a bill that creates the South Carolina Farm Aid Fund, which would set aside $40 million for farmers affected by October’s historic floods.  “I will not support any bailout of any industry over any other industry that has suffered from this thousand-year flood,” Haley said Saturday at the state Republican Party convention. “I will veto that next week. We do not do bailouts in the state of South Carolina.” [node:read-more:link]

The widespread crop loss was made possible after the warm winter left peach trees vulnerable to a sudden drop in temperature that occurred on Valentine’s Day. [node:read-more:link]

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump told supporters at a campaign stop in Nebraska that he plans to go tit-for-tat when it comes to tariffs on ag products such as beef.  “There won’t be any more tariffs with Japan, or if there will, we’re going to do it the opposite way to them. "You want to charge a tariff of 38 percent to Nebraska for its beef? Then we’re going to charge you a tariff of 38 percent when you sell your cars to the United States. It’s a very simple thing,’” Trump said.  [node:read-more:link]

Combining solar panels with batteries to keep electricity flowing when the sun isn't shining has long been the target for companies dabbling in the emerging technologies of the power grid.

This year is seeing more development in that space than ever before, thanks to falling battery and solar prices, the marketing prowess of super-entrepreneur Elon Musk, and national and international clean-energy and climate-change policies.

  [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) today announced $8.7 million in cooperative agreements for risk management education and training programs. The funding would give organizations needed resources to develop training and education tools to help farmers and ranchers, especially those traditionally underserved or with limited resources, learn how to effectively managing long-term risks and challenges. [node:read-more:link]

By January 2017,  if a producer wants to use antibiotics in feed, they will have to have a vet on call to issue a Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) or a prescription. The two will also need to have something the FDA has so nimbly named a Veterinarian Client Patient Relationship (VCPR). [node:read-more:link]

Leaving Fido in the car with unsafe conditions would be illegal under a pair of Senate bills and someone who causes an animal death that way could face five years in prison.

Sen. Curtis Hertel, Lansing, said sixteen states already have similar laws surrounding dogs being left in cars. [node:read-more:link]

Carbon dioxide emissions from the US’s energy sector fell in 2015 and now stand at 12% below 2005 levels, a drop mainly driven by the continuing collapse of the coal industry. [node:read-more:link]

At least 30% of antibiotics prescribed in the U.S. are unnecessary, according to new data published May 3 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with Pew Charitable Trusts and other public health and medical experts.

The study analyzed antibiotic use in doctors’ offices and emergency departments throughout the U.S. [node:read-more:link]