Washington state vegetable farmers Burr and Rosella Mosby shifted in their seats and furrowed their brows as they listened to a panel discuss immigration issues during a session at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention.  USDA economist Tom Hertz was providing some troubling numbers for the Mosbys and other farmers who depend on workers to plant, prune, pick and pack their crops. “We hand-harvest everything,” Burr Mosby said.  Mexican immigration to the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

December 25, 2016, marks the 70th anniversary of the release of It’s a Wonderful Life. This film is far more than a charming, nostalgic, and magical look at a different time in small-city America. [node:read-more:link]

Once-bustling Renwick, Iowa, lost its grocery, hardware store, school and Ford dealership years ago, but when its sole bar closed last June, it seemed to some residents there wasn't much of a town left. So a group of seven friends and spouses who had met for beers at the bar for decades took matters into their own hands. One of them bought the place and the others pooled their money to fix it up, showing up after work to replace floors and walls on steamy summer nights before reopening in September as the Blue Moose Saloon. [node:read-more:link]

Urban-based conservation groups need get out of their isolated circles and do a better job of including rural communities in their efforts to protect public lands, says the director of a hiking-trail association in southern Oregon. [node:read-more:link]

Several consumers can proceed with a lawsuit alleging they were deceived by vegetable oil labeled as “100 percent natural” despite containing genetically engineered ingredients.  In 2015, a federal judge in California agreed to certify the lawsuit against the Conagra food company as a class action, allowing other consumers to be included in the litigation. However, the case was put on hold while Conagra challenged the class certification before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. [node:read-more:link]

Farmers have put a tremendous amount of hope into the new presidential administration, one that built its candidacy on throwing out the political party which had "Hope" as a central theme.  That's really the only way to interpret the results of the latest DTN/The Progressive Farmer Agricultural Confidence Index, based on responses from 500 farmers from across the United States. Answers farmers gave to an early December survey produced an Ag Confidence Index of 98, up considerably from the 72 rating in August, and up from the 75.1 rating farmers set in December 2015. [node:read-more:link]

Animal rights activists interrupted Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's opening speech Saturday at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. [node:read-more:link]

2016 was a busy year for mergers and acquisitions in the poultry, pig and animal feed industries. Here is a review of the more than 100 deals WATTAgNet reported on last year.  Aviagen Turkeys acquiring France’s Le Sayec. Zoetis to sell some animal health brands, manufacturing unit. Pestell Minerals & Ingredients acquires Agri-Feed Products Ltd. Pancosma & Associates acquires Btech. BRF finalizes acquisition in Qatar. Packaging companies Hamer, Fischbein Americas merge. Alltech completes acquisition of Masterfeeds. Nutreco completes acquisition of Micronutrients.. [node:read-more:link]

It’s been said and blogged before that many, if not all, of the cage-free purchase pledges made by restaurant companies are a little vague, if not confusing.  When a company says it will source “100 percent cage-free eggs” they don’t typically define what cage-free means. They also often don’t specify exactly what products to be sold and served will contain cage-free eggs. A recent press release issued by Taco Bell, a Yum! Brands subsidiary, illustrates the latter. [node:read-more:link]

Some farm-belt advisers to the Trump campaign say they want the president-elect to put the brakes on agriculture-industry consolidation.  Some farm-state advisers to President-elect Donald Trump are speaking out against a wave of mergers among global seed and pesticide companies, warning they could boost the prices farmers pay. The advisers, including state officials and farmers, warn that consolidation will leave farmers with fewer choices among suppliers and shift a large portion of critical agricultural research to foreign ownership. [node:read-more:link]