Late last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to add $600 million to fund e-Connectivity, a pilot program aimed at bridging the rural digital divide by improving broadband internet access for American farmers. But the rural digital divide is wider than ever, as farmers struggle to run tech-dependent businesses without broadband. [node:read-more:link]
A U.S. attorney is suing a West Virginia hemp farm and others, saying they violating the federal Controlled Substances Act.U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart has sued Matthew Mallory of CAMO Hemp WV, and Gary Kale of Grassy Run Farms. Grassy Run Farms owns the land, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported Saturday.The lawsuit charges the farmers with manufacturing, cultivation, possession, and intent to distribute marijuana and not hemp. [node:read-more:link]
The Department of Homeland Security announced a proposal to sharply tighten immigration rules today. Some immigrants who use welfare programs that they are legally entitled to use, like food assistance and housing vouchers, could be denied green cards because they use those programs. It's already been a rule that, in order to get a green card, an applicant can't be what is known as a public charge.It's a phrase that goes all the way back into the 19th century in our immigration laws. Basically, it means an immigrant who relies primarily on the federal government. [node:read-more:link]
A new study, led by scientists from the University of Cambridge, says focusing resources to generate higher yields from smaller areas might be the “least bad” option to meet rising demand for food – as long as it allows more natural habitats to be “spared the plough”. [node:read-more:link]
The Dutch company Beladon is opening the world's first floating dairy farm in the Netherlands. Located in Rotterdam, the farm will house 40 cows in a high-tech facility on the water.Minke van Wingerden, one of the project's leaders, told Business Insider that the farm will produce an average of 211 gallons of milk each day.Most of the cows' food will come from city waste products, such as grains left over from local breweries and by-products from mills.Beladon is also interested in launching floating chicken farms and floating vertical farming greenhouse
Walmart and its unit Sam’s Club said on Monday leafy greens suppliers will be asked to implement real-time, farm-to-store tracking using blockchain technology by next September, as the retailer tackles food-safety incidents. [node:read-more:link]
A biorefinery that will produce 16 MMgy of cellulosic ethanol and 120,000 of lignin pellets is set to break ground in Spiritwood, North Dakota, in the spring of 2019. The facility, under development by New Energy Blue, will feature Inbicon technology. The proposed plant, known as New Energy Spirit Biomass Refinery LLC, will be located in Spiritwood Energy Park near Jamestown, North Dakota, adjacent to Dakota Spirit AgEnergy LLC, an existing 70 MMgy corn ethanol plant, and Spiritwood Station, a 99-megawatt coal-fired power plant that produces electricity and steam. [node:read-more:link]
Three more agricultural enterprise areas totaling 185,000 acres have been designated by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. The new AEAs will be in Trempealeau County's town of Arcadia; St. Croix County's town of Troy; and six townships in northwest Outagamie and northeast Waupaca counties. Wisconsin will have a total of 37 agricultural enterprise areas, or AEAs, in 26 counties, 108 towns and the Bad River Reservation, as of January 1, 2019.AEAs may be created or expanded when at least five landowners, in partnership with local governments, petition the DATCP for the designation. [node:read-more:link]
A new team of food safety experts has been created to help speed up the licensing process for Minnesota food businesses. The goal of the Food Innovation Team (FIT), a subcommittee of Minnesota’s Food Safety and Defense Task Force, is to help state regulators accommodate new and innovative food business models while maintaining high food safety standards. “Obtaining a food license can be a daunting process,” said Jim Roettger, Licensing Liaison for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. [node:read-more:link]
Whether they want to or not, many Portland-area restaurants will soon be turning food scraps into energy. A mandatory food scrap recycling program is set to start in less than two years.Beginning in 2020 Metro will require any business that generates more than 250 pounds of food waste a week to separate out those food scraps for recycling.Currently, area food waste makes up about one-fifth of the garbage that goes to the landfill.According to Metro, that's about 5,000 semi-trucks full of food scraps every year that end up in our landfills. [node:read-more:link]
