When the 2018 farm bill passed in December 2018, the inclusion of a vaccine bank against foot and mouth disease “a huge win for the pork industry,” said Mike Haag, an Illinois pork producer and president of the Illinois Pork Producers Association. That project was just one part of a larger effort to improve biosecurity and protection from foreign animal diseases, a issue that has only increased in importance as African swine fever continues to spread across parts of Asia and Europe. [node:read-more:link]

Last year, President Donald Trump pardoned the ranchers, ending the jail time they were still serving for lighting wildland fires that endangered federal firefighters. Then, in January, then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke reissued their grazing permit, and the Hammonds returned to ranching. On April 9, the BLM released a new environmental assessment for grazing on the Hammond Allotment, one of the largest of several the family uses in the high desert of eastern Oregon, where rolling hills are broken by rocky outcroppings. [node:read-more:link]

Once restricted to the western plains, coyote populations are surging in cities across the U.S. They are master adapters who have learned to survive in urban environments – a recent study found coyotes present in 96 out of 105 cities surveyed. But many communities are struggling to figure out new ways to deal with predators in their neighborhoods.One of the most startling findings has been that people’s gardening choices could be contributing to the problem of disappearing pets. [node:read-more:link]

As the Legislature considers greenlighting hemp production, a litany of farmers, rural economic development advocates and even conservative Republicans are singing its praises. Now a potential new cash crop — hemp —  could give a much-needed boost to local economies and has folks in Haskell and other farming towns in the state buzzing. Hemp and marijuana are the same plant species, but hemp lacks marijuana’s psychoactive properties and can be used to make goods ranging from clothing and paper to building materials and medicine. [node:read-more:link]

Michigan farmers can plant industrial hemp this year, under a new pilot program announced by Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. “Michigan is uniquely positioned to grow, process and manufacture industrial hemp. We are one of the nation’s most agriculturally diverse states -- growing 300 different commodities on a commercial basis -- making it a natural fit,” Whitmer said in a statement. [node:read-more:link]

the World Health Organization (WHO), the arm of the United Nations charged with monitoring global health, has dropped its endorsement of the EAT-Lancet Commission’s planetary health diet—a much-ballyhooed, well-publicized attempt at saving the planet through the food we eat.Gian Lorenzo Cornado, Italy’s ambassador to the United Nations, questioned the diet’s impact on public health. [node:read-more:link]

Working to ensure dairy farmers will be able to move their milk even in wintry weather conditions, the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee has approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Martin Causer (R-Cameron/McKean/Potter) that would exempt milk trucks from weather-related commercial vehicle travel bans. [node:read-more:link]

The Food and Drug Administration has become more active in regulating cannabidiol (C.B.D.) products. The agency sent warning letters dated March 28 to three companies marketing C.B.D. products with “egregious and unfounded claims that are aimed at vulnerable populations,” the agency said. The F.D.A. also has scheduled a May 31 public hearing to discuss how C.B.D. products may be marketed legally. “As our actions today make clear, the F.D.A. stands ready to protect consumers from companies illegally selling C.B.D. [node:read-more:link]

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts expressed his disapproval Monday morning of legislation that would tax veterinary services.Ricketts toured the Veterinary Centers of American and joined with veterinarians to ask lawmakers not to raise taxes. "We're here today to say keep your paws off of our pet healthcare," he said.The governor addressed proposals in the legislature that supporters said are needed to balance revenue lost if property tax relief is passed.Ricketts said no tax increase would help."I'm against raising all the taxes. We've done this in the past. [node:read-more:link]