Suicide rates among farmers are alarmingly high. Much of it has to do with isolation and stress level. We spoke with Minnesota's Department of Agriculture's Mental Health Director who was here for the Local Foods Conference.He says farming is a job that includes one stressor after the next.For example, this year we saw a late planting season, and prices for crops being set lower than in the past few years. [node:read-more:link]
The exceptionally low unemployment rate is good news for American workers. But it contributes to a growing problem: Companies can’t find enough employees. This puts downward pressure on corporate and U.S. economic growth.Recent government statistics indicate that nearly 7 million non-farm jobs were unfilled. This includes 278,000 in construction and 493,000 in manufacturing. But it gets worse. [node:read-more:link]
Since the 1990s, immigrants have migrated to rural areas at unprecedented rates, accounting for 37 percent of overall rural growth from 2000 to 2018. They come and fill crucial roles vacated by native-born Americans, ranging from the much-needed labor force in agricultural industries to the vital healthcare professionals in underserved regions. Although immigrants make valuable contributions to rural society, they are not necessarily well-treated nor particularly welcomed by locals. [node:read-more:link]
Farmers are still monitoring the impact of Hurricane Michael on their livestock. There have been reports of unexpected animal deaths in areas impacted by the storm - including southeast Alabama, Georgia and Florida.veterinarians who serve the Wiregrass also reported receiving calls about animal loss since the storm.Dr. William Terry of Hartford Veterinary Services and Supply says he’s had about 20 producers contact him about their livestock getting ill - particularly their stocker cows.“It could be anything, that’s the thing. It’s not going to be one thing,” Syfrett said. [node:read-more:link]
The unlikely combination of freshwater fish and cannabis is producing outsized medical marijuana crops that Green Relief Inc aims to capitalize on, as the Canadian company plots a stock market listing and global expansion.In an underground southern Ontario facility surrounded by farmland, Green Relief operates a cutting-edge aquaponic farm, using filtered fish waste to fertilize cannabis plants, which in turn clean the water for the fish.The company says it is the world’s only licensed producer to grow medical marijuana this way, a pesticide-free process that took 2-1/2 years to fine tune. [node:read-more:link]
The federal Farm Bill forbids states from preventing the transportation of hemp, and a Colorado company that wants its seized shipment back from Idaho is citing the Farm Bill in a court filing against the state.Still, the Ada County prosecuting attorney’s office argues that hauling hemp through Idaho is illegal and that the seizure was lawful.An Oregon trucker who claims he was hauling hemp from Oregon to Colorado through Idaho was arrested on Jan. [node:read-more:link]
While glyphosate has lower toxicity than many pesticides — it's rated zero risk for homeowner use — the news and social media are laden with its purported health risks to humans, especially cancer.But those claims are out of step with scientific risk assessments related to exposure, Ronda Hirnyck, University of Idaho pesticide coordinator, said during a pesticide seminar at this year’s Agri-Action.Part of the issue with glyphosate or Roundup —a Monsanto product used to treat weeds in some GMO crops — is that everybody’s heard about it. [node:read-more:link]
Group of 10 bipartisan members of Congress write letter to FDA urging strong action against mislabeled milk and dairy products. [node:read-more:link]
Over one-fifth of U .S . corn acreage was planted with DT corn in 2016 . DT corn accounted for only 2 percent of U.S. planted corn acreage in 2012. By 2016, this share had grown to 22 percent. The pace of adoption is similar to the adoption of herbicide-tolerant corn in the early 2000s. DT corn made up roughly 40 percent of corn acreage in some drought-prone States . In 2016, 42 percent of Nebraska corn acres and 39 percent of Kansas corn acres were planted with DT seed. [node:read-more:link]
r\Researchers investigate the application of two Food and Drug Administration-recommended food-safety practices by taking a closer look at the estimated 14 percent of at-home meal preparers who use meat thermometers when preparing meat and the 2 percent who use nonpasteurized raw milk in a typical week.Each week, an estimated 2 percent of at-home meal preparers, or 3.2 million people (1.3 percent of the U.S. population age 18 or over) consumed or served raw milk. [node:read-more:link]
