Veterinary associations warned in March that cattle veterinarians were being pressured to issue illegal orders for medicated feeds. The AVMA and American Associ­ation of Bovine Practitioners published a joint statement March 6 on the AVMA@Work blog warning that both organizations had received reports veterinarians had been pressured to issue veterinary feed directives for chlortetracycline-containing feeds in unapproved formulations or for unapproved indications.Dr. K. [node:read-more:link]

On the same day President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end the Clean Power Plan, the world's largest beer company announced it would buy 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025. Anheuser-Busch InBev will start renewable energy shifts in Mexico, which is home to the company's largest brewery. The company will be buying power from a major wind and solar project being built in Mexico. AB InBev has joined RE100, a group of major global businesses committed to converting to 100% renewable energy. [node:read-more:link]

Neonicotinoid pesticides would be subject to new restrictions and labeling rules under two bills proposed in Oregon. Labels would be required for pesticides containing neonicotinoids, as well as seeds and raw crops treated with the chemicals, under Senate Bill 928. The entire class of neonicotinoid insecticides would be restricted under Senate Bill 929 to only be available to licensed pesticide applicators, farmers and veterinarians. An exemption in SB 929 allows farmers to use the insecticides but doesn’t explain who meets that description. [node:read-more:link]

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has just launched the Cropland Grazing Exchange. The new online tool seeks to connect crop farmers and livestock farmers to improve soil health.  Livestock are an integral part of achieving optimal soil health. They convert forages to more available forms of nutrients and help break up residue material and stimulate soil microbial activity. [node:read-more:link]

Colorado livestock could be eating hemp as early as next year, thanks to a bill directing the Colorado Department of Agriculture to study the use of industrial hemp in animal feed. Mike Sullivan, the owner of Johnstown-based Hemp Farm Colorado, said the inclusion of hemp in animal feed could solve one of the biggest problems hemp farmers face. “One of the real big problems with the hemp industry is there’s hardly any processors out there that are buying materials straight from the farmer. This would be a great leap forward,” he said. [node:read-more:link]

The company’s six global commitments, known collectively as the Good Growth Plan, are to make crops more efficient, rescue more farmland from degradation, help biodiversity to flourish, empower smallholders, keep agricultural workers safe and provide fair employment in the sector.  They have been designed to line up with the United Nations sustainable development goals. It works with 3,700 farms across the world – 1,000 of which are ‘reference farms’ where Syngenta protocols are in place, and 2,700 of which are ‘benchmark farms’ to use as a comparator. [node:read-more:link]

Solar industry jobs doubled in the Cleveland, Ohio area last year, driving about half of the state’s total job growth in the sector, according to new data released today by The Solar Foundation.  However, the industry’s future growth in Cuyahoga County and elsewhere in the state could be jeopardized by ongoing uncertainty over Ohio’s renewable portfolio standards.  The detailed data are a follow-up to a nationwide report released by the group last month. [node:read-more:link]

"Going forward, we're predicting warmer and wetter springs, and drier, hotter summers," Davis says. "The season fragments and we start to see an early-early season, so that March starts looking like a good target for planting in the future. In the past, March has been the bleeding edge; nobody in their right mind would have planted then. But we've already seen the trend for early planting. [node:read-more:link]

Vermont pushed back against President Donald Trump’s immigration orders with a new law on Tuesday that limits police involvement with the federal government and gives the governor the power to sign off on agreements for officers to do federal immigration duties. Republican Gov. Phil Scott called it a response to federal overreach by the Trump administration.Under the law, state and local police officers are prohibited from collecting personal information on residents beyond what’s needed to carry out their law enforcement duties. [node:read-more:link]