Farmers in most of the country are left largely with the same health-insurance options they have faced in the past when it comes to the law, though a new experiment is starting in Minnesota with a farmer health-insurance cooperative. The idea of a farmer health-care cooperative had been kicked around in Minnesota since 2009 but had faced multiple regulatory stumbling blocks. [node:read-more:link]
After harvesting a corn or soybean crop, farmers may plant a cover crop for a variety of reasons—to reduce soil erosion and nutrient runoff, increase organic matter in the soil, and improve water quality. Now there’s another reason. University of Illinois research shows that migratory birds prefer to rest and refuel in fields with cover crops. “Here in the Midwest, we’re in one of the major flyway zones for migratory birds, where there once was plenty of habitat for grassland birds to safely forage and rest during their migration. [node:read-more:link]
The only bad trade agreement is one that you’re not in, so it’s imperative that the United States can hold its own in existing trade pacts, while also developing new relationships. Seng sees the fact that the pork complex exports are up 9% is “very encouraging news for us because pork has always been a challenge to some degree. Mexico is up about 18%. … We’re watching Mexico because quietly it has become our No. 1 volume destination and it’s a very important market, a growing market for us.”In addition to Mexico, U.S. [node:read-more:link]
U.S. Tobacco Cooperative, Inc. ("U.S. Tobacco"), formerly known as Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corporation, has reached a $24 million Settlement to resolve claims made by current and former U.S. Tobacco members over reserve funds. Tobacco growers across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama who were or are members of U.S. Tobacco, as well as their heirs or representatives, are eligible for a payment from the Settlement. The Settlement stems from a lawsuit that claims U.S. [node:read-more:link]
Studies show the Southeast, Midwest, and Great Plains regions will likely experience greater combined economic effects compared to other regions.The GAO advised that $350 billion is being spent by the federal government in 2017 because of extreme weather and fire events. GAO believes these numbers will increase and that floods and drought once considered rare will become more common and intense because of climate change. [node:read-more:link]
Cash-strapped agencies use private contractors to the detriment of local communities. Hawkinson’s assertion that manual labor such as tree-planting, thinning timber and fuel-reduction logging is the kind of work that no modern Americans want to do comes up over and over again. There is, of course, a built-in conundrum in the question: As long as we have thousands of poor migrants, willing to plant our trees for $13.85 per hour or less, and as long as local Americans are actively discouraged from taking such jobs, we’ll never know the answer. [node:read-more:link]
The Vermont House Rural Development Caucus will hold a public hearing at the Statehouse, from 5-7 p.m., on Tuesday, Nov. 7, to hear from municipal, business, education, and nonprofit interests in rural Vermont about what issues are the most pressing. The Rural Development Caucus, also known as the Rural Economic Development Working Group, is a nonpartisan group of Vermont lawmakers that seeks to ensure that the needs of rural Vermont are considered when public policy is contemplated, debated, or enacted [node:read-more:link]
Efforts to convince Tyson Foods Inc. to build a proposed $320 million chicken complex in Sedgwick County, Kan., include a letter signed by all five county commissioners, according to a published report. The letter said the panel is “ready to collaborate with (Tyson) regarding this venture and leverage many of our important partnerships." The letter touted the county’s “land mass, transportation system and agricultural framework to support the Tyson facilities,” the report said. [node:read-more:link]
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture’s Bill Northey’s confirmation to a top post at the USDA – long thought to be a slam-dunk – is reportedly being held up over oil-versus-corn politics in the U.S. Senate. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is holding back Northey’s nomination as the Ag Department’s new undersecretary for farm production and conservation. The move comes despite wide support for Northey on the Senate Agriculture Committee. The reason? According to Politico’s unnamed sources, it’s a “reaction” to successful efforts by Iowa Sens. [node:read-more:link]
“I think Maine is leading the way,” said State Senator Troy Jackson, the Maine Senate Democratic leader and original sponsor of the bill. “I think we’re really the first state to empower our local municipalities this way.” But in a special legislative session October 23 to address federal concerns about the new law, lawmakers added some clarification: When it comes to meat and poultry inspections, all farmers, regardless of where they conduct business in the state, must follow federal and state meat and poultry regulations. [node:read-more:link]
