he law firm of Hagens Berman filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of a group of consumers in the US District Court for the District of Minnesota on June 28, claiming a price-fixing scheme by food companies to collectively raise pork prices since 2009. Agri Stats, Clemens Food Group, Hormel Foods, Indiana Packers, JBS USA, Seaboard Foods, Smithfield Foods, Triumph Foods and Tyson Foods are implicated in the lawsuit.According to the lawsuit, the listed food companies “systematically controlled their output” with Agri Stats providing the information. [node:read-more:link]

Agricultural research will benefit from the expansiveness in Pennsylvania’s new budget. Gov. Tom Wolf signed a spending package June 22 that provides a 3 percent raise for Penn State research and Extension, and for the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school. Their research helps Pennsylvania farmers remain competitive, reduce pollution and stay ahead of livestock diseases, said Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, minority chairman of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

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Maryland dairy farmer Randy Sowers has butted heads with the government before—and won. The first time it was for pipe he placed in a pasture to help control erosion. Government officials claimed the pipe had replaced a natural stream, but it was actually a runoff ditch. Sowers eventually was able to keep the pipe in the ground.A bigger run-in with the government happened when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seized $60,000 in February 2012 for a violation of structuring laws. With the help of the Institute for Justice, Sowers’ money was returned, a rare win against the IRS. [node:read-more:link]

The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust, an affiliate of the D-rated Humane Society of the United States, celebrated its 25th anniversary. The Trust’s goal is to take donated land and “[prohibit] commercial and recreational hunting and trapping, a promise that no other national land conservation organization makes.” In fact, there is good reason to suspect this $12 million organization has a bankrupt track record on conservation. The HSUS Wildlife Land Trust boasts about 20,000 acres of protected land—which is next to nothing to accumulate over two and half decades. [node:read-more:link]

Brian Luck grew up on an 800-acre corn and soybean farm in western Kentucky, so he knows well the look of a planted field from the exact height of a tractor seat.But these days, Luck is more familiar with a much loftier view of farm fields. [node:read-more:link]

Footpaths, bike trails and car tours guide tourists and locals alike through the region’s natural and cultural heritage. The spending that accompanies the use of such trails has helped revive local economies. But wage levels remain a challenge. [node:read-more:link]

Health research has focused on younger, urban immigrants, leaving big gaps in knowledge about older, foreign-born residents who live in rural areas. [node:read-more:link]

The Ohio House approved a bill that would ban dog wardens from using gas chambers for euthanasia and allow the use of a tranquilizer gun to capture animals without a veterinarian present. If the Senate also approves the bill, it would affect Erie County, which is one of the few remaining county dog warden offices that uses a gas chamber for euthanasia. Erie County’s dog warden, Barb Knapp, said she would be willing to adjust the euthanasia procedure if the provision allowing the use of tranquilizers passes. [node:read-more:link]

Canada announced a final list of items targeted for retaliation over U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, hitting U.S. beef, agricultural chemicals and whiskey, as well as a large number of steel and aluminum products. The $12.6 billion of tariffs will go into effect on July 1. Items will be subject to taxes of 10% or 25%. [node:read-more:link]

A jury in eastern North Carolina found on Friday that a Smithfield Foods hog farm posed a nuisance to neighboring residents and awarded them $25 million in damages, according to federal court documents.Plaintiffs Elvis and Vonnie Williams claimed victory in the second of what is expected to be a dozen similar cases alleging that the company’s hog farms’ waste, noise and odors are diminishing neighbors’ quality of life.A group of residents also won in the first case of the series held in April, with the jury in that case awarding $50 million. [node:read-more:link]