Midland-based Dow Chemical confirmed that it does not expect a regulatory decision on its proposed merger with its chief rival until early next year. Dow, one of Michigan's largest publicly traded companies, confirmed the expected delay amid third-quarter earnings that had beaten Wall Street expectations. Company officials once hoped the European Commission would  weigh in on the merger by December. But the timing for the decision has been pushed back until February. [node:read-more:link]

A project that would turn gases released at landfill in southern Idaho into energy is moving forward. Commissioners from seven counties that own Southern Idaho Solid Waste voted Wednesday for the project at Milner Butte Landfill in Burley to proceed. The Idaho Mountain Express reports that the project involves taking methane gases produced by decomposing garbage and burning it for energy. The landfill already captures methane gas and burns it, but doesn't yet generate energy through the process. [node:read-more:link]

In its recent report, “Farms and Free Enterprise: A Blueprint for Agricultural Policy,” The Heritage Foundation calls for the elimination of constructive energy programs in the next Farm Bill. That's a nonsensical proposition. The Farm Bill's Energy Title reduces our dependence on oil, reduces carbon emissions, and helps meet growing consumer demand for sustainable energy and bioproducts. Further, the programs have unlocked billions of dollars of private lending for rural communities, which otherwise lack access to capital. [node:read-more:link]

The obsession with knowing how our food is raised, manufactured and processed  dates back to 1906 when Upton Sinclair penned The Jungle, a look at the dark side of the meat industry and caused the Pure Food & Drug Act to be passed. I don’t think the majority of consumers actually read the labels at the supermarkets as they make their choices based on taste, cost, quality, appearance and maybe what is on sale that day. [node:read-more:link]

The US District Court for the District of Columbia recently granted the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) intervenor status in a lawsuit over the release of documents related to an audit of the beef checkoff program. NCBA is now a defendant-intervenor in the case. [node:read-more:link]

About 30 southeastern Alberta ranches are being quarantined after bovine tuberculosis was reported in a single cow from the province that was slaughtered in the United States.  The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Friday its veterinarians and inspectors are making contact with cattle producers in five Alberta agricultural zones and are working with provincial authorities to investigate the report.  "The investigation is ongoing and it is not yet known how many animals will require testing," said agency spokesperson Denis Schryburt.  "The number of animals requiring testing will depend o [node:read-more:link]

As more jurisdictions legalize marijuana, veterinarians across the country say they are seeing a sharp increase in cases of pets accidentally getting high. Tasty “edibles” such as muffins and cookies that people consume for a buzz are also appealing to animals, who can’t read warning labels, and, in the case of dogs, rarely stop at just one pot brownie. [node:read-more:link]

Some farmers loaded up on easy credit when grain prices were high - and kept borrowing after they crashed. Now debt and delinquencies are rising fast, raising fears of broader turmoil in U.S. agriculture. Their distress could foreshadow broader economic turmoil in the grain sector, which includes corn, soybeans and wheat.  “We’re in for a very, very rough time,” said Jim Mintert, director of Purdue University's Center for Commercial Agriculture. [node:read-more:link]

Just maybe, a few of the legislators were praying for the next oil boom, the way their fathers and grandfathers did.  But this oil bust could be different. [node:read-more:link]

In recent years, researchers have documented the changing demographics of rural areas, with a specific focus on changes in racial-ethnic composition and immigration patterns,1 particularly the increased migration of Hispanics to rural places.2 In spite of this attention to the changing demographics of rural America, surprisingly little is known about how rural immigrants compare to both their urban peers and native-born counterparts. [node:read-more:link]