A federal court has shut down the New York creamery linked to a multistate listeriosis outbreak in 2017 that sickened at least eight people, resulting in two deaths. Vulto Creamery LLC and its owner, Johannes Vulto, were ordered to cease all food preparation, production, and related operations at the Walton, N.Y. facility until they can ensure no listeria is present. [node:read-more:link]

As states struggle to close the connectivity gap in rural areas, some experts believe a federal mandate, similar to the one that first brought those residents electricity, might be in order.The American landscape of broadband in rural areas is spotty at best. It is a picture covered with splotches of color. Some maps are covered with red indicating there is no service; and other maps are covered in blue where access can be found. [node:read-more:link]

Immigration officials executed a federal criminal search warrant at the Southeastern Provision meatpacking plant in Bean Station, Tennessee, on April 5. According to a statement released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Public Affairs Officer Tammy Spicer, 97 people were arrested during a search by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). [node:read-more:link]

A growing number of mostly Republican-led states are itching to create work requirements for people on Medicaid, but finding a way to pay for it could prove challenging. In Tennessee, lawmakers want to add a Medicaid work mandate, but only if they can use federal — not state — dollars to make it happen. [node:read-more:link]

Brazil's Marfrig Global Foods has reached an agreement to acquire 51 percent of National Beef Packing Company for $969 million, becoming the world's second largest beef processor. [node:read-more:link]

oday, fewer than 15 percent of U.S. businesses are located in rural areas and small towns. Bank loans for amounts less than $1 million, primarily to family-owned small businesses and farms, have dropped by nearly half since 2005. These are warning signs for the basic building-blocks of the economy which serve as the foundation of America’s economic stability. [node:read-more:link]

CEOs from rural power providers will descend on Congress this week with the message that "second-class service" will no longer be tolerated and their customers deserve the same treatment as those who live in cities. “Rural America should expect comparable broadband speeds as urban citizens, and not subject to ‘second-class service." The utilities want key grant programs fully funded under both the Farm Bill and fiscal 2019 budget appropriations, as well as "vehicles to invest in rural broadband,” which means a combination of loans and grants. [node:read-more:link]

Not many people get to save a family farm, let alone four of them, but cheese-makers Jay and John Noble may do just that.  The Racine County brothers are reopening the Beechwood cheese plant near Adell, in Sheboygan County, that's been closed for about a year. By most standards it’s a small plant, a two-man operation where the Nobles will make high-end organic cheese. [node:read-more:link]

Since the 1990s, the money for campaigns like “Beef: It’s What’s for Dinner” and “Got Milk?” came from mandatory fees charged to producers to fund the industry organizations. Now the payments are under threat from cattle ranchers and their congressional allies who want to make them optional. They say they’d prefer that advertising not benefit rival beef producers from other countries, who also pay fees, because U.S. beef is best. [node:read-more:link]

Health Canada launched a consultation period in February for its proposed new front-of-packaging labelling. The proposal is part of Health Canada's Healthy Eating Strategy and would include placing new warning labels on the front of products sold in Canada for foods that are high in saturated fats, sugars and sodium.   “Our concern is that many Canadians would actually put that product back down if they see a warning label on it. So it would impact our markets domestically,” said David Wiens, chair of Dairy Farmers of Manitoba. [node:read-more:link]