The average age of the American farmer has crept up in the last 30 years—a trend both academia and the U.S. government want to figure out how to reverse. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture, which is published every five years, the average farmer’s age has increased from 50 years to 58 years. Only 6 percent of U.S. farmers are younger than 35. [node:read-more:link]
Federal health officials are investigating a listeria outbreak in several states that has been tied to at least two deaths and may be linked to cheese. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday that six people, including a newborn, have been infected with listeria since September. All of them were hospitalized and two of them have died. The source of the outbreak appears to be Vulto Creamery, a New York-based facility that makes soft raw milk cheese and distributes products nationwide, officials said. The company recalled the cheeses Tuesday. [node:read-more:link]
Another year, another pile of dead dogs and cats for the crematorium, courtesy of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Late Tuesday night—almost literally at the last minute—PETA filed its 2016 animal custody information with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) admitting it had killed nearly 72% of the cats and dogs that came through the “animal shelter” at its headquarters. That’s 1,411 dead dogs and cats at the hands of PETA last year alone. [node:read-more:link]
New Mexico has benefited from its renewable energy production tax credit, which has supported more than 11,000 jobs and represents $1.6 billion in economic activity, according to a new report. The report, released by Family Businesses for Affordable Energy this week, says the state has established has "a robust renewable energy generation sector with enormous potential for growth" and clean power is a wise investment for New Mexico. The credits are set to expire next year. [node:read-more:link]
For years a utility that supplies drinking water to Iowa's capital city has spent millions of dollars to rid its water supply of pollutants that run off farm fields upstream. Finally, exasperated officials filed a lawsuit to force the agricultural counties to clamp down on the runoff. But the state Legislature, now controlled by Republicans who won big majorities in the November election, has decided to address the issue in a different way. It's preparing to dissolve the utility, effectively killing the lawsuit. [node:read-more:link]
Gov. Rick Snyder wanted to outline the importance of providing resources for local food suppliers to connect with global buyers. “This isn’t rocket science, this is simple,” said Snyder. “The goal of this initiative is to get people to talk to each other.”Pure Michigan Business Connect, formed in 2011, is a public/private initiative developed by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation that helps connect local and global purchasers to suppliers of Michigan goods and services. [node:read-more:link]
The House Republican leadership’s legislation to partially repeal and replace the 2010 health care law would reduce the deficit by $337 billion over a decade while increasing the number of uninsured by 24 million people in 2026, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Monday. [node:read-more:link]
Flooding is a chronic problem for livestock farmers in the Snoqualmie Valley. As rising water has worsened over the last few years, a King County program that protects cattle during floods is also rising in popularity. K-T Cattle beef cows spend their entire lives on the same farm, but their home is about to move closer to the Snoqualmie River."In order to move the operation up here in order to scale it, the whole thing goes under water. We have to be able to get them out of the water," explained owner Jim Haack. [node:read-more:link]
A bill that would codify in Idaho law a landmark court ruling on who owns stock watering rights on federally administered land has been approved by the Senate Resources and Environment Committee. The committee voted unanimously to send the bill to the Senate floor with a “do-pass” recommendation March 1 following impassioned testimony by the two Owyhee County ranchers who won that court decision. Paul Nettleton and Tim Lowry fought a decade-long battle with the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
For 2016, the IHS estimates there was $31.3 trillion in total sales activity in the United States across all sectors; of that total, IHS estimates that $416.2 billion in sales was supported by the o -highway equipment and ancillary products industry’s economic activity. This occurred through approximately $266.5 billion in direct industry sales activity, such as the sales of equipment like skid steers and combines, which generated additional economic activity as dollars fl owed through the equipment manufacturing supply chain. [node:read-more:link]
