A new label on some of the steaks in your grocery store highlights a production process you may never have heard of: mechanical tenderizing.  This means the beef has been punctured with blades or needles to break down the muscle fibers and make it easier to chew. But it also means the meat has a greater chance of being contaminated and making you sick. The labels are a requirement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that went into effect this week. [node:read-more:link]

When I die, I want to come back as an organic chicken. Okay, not really, since I do not believe in reincarnation, but you have to admit the life of an organic chicken, as proposed by the USDA, is a darn site better than the living conditions of many people today.   According to the rules laid out in the proposed USDA organic livestock rule, the lifestyle of an organic chicken will be comfortable, enjoyable, intellectually stimulating, and stress free.  This lifestyle comes at a price, however, but a price that will be paid by the producer and the consumer. [node:read-more:link]

Peabody Energy, America’s biggest coalmining company, has funded at least two dozen groups that cast doubt on manmade climate change and oppose environment regulations, analysis by the Guardian reveals.  The funding spanned trade associations, corporate lobby groups, and industry front groups as well as conservative thinktanks and was exposed in court filings last month. [node:read-more:link]

Minnesota’s rural distributed generation customers won a major victory this week when state regulators halted the practice by cooperatives of applying fixed charges for solar installations.  Regulators ruled June 9 that cooperatives must file requests for small power production tariffs with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, which makes the final determination on those fees. [node:read-more:link]

The Dairy Farmers of America cooperative has agreed to a $50 million revised settlement paid to Northeast U.S. dairy farmers. The settlement stems from a class-action lawsuit that accused the marketing group of trying to drive down milk prices. The revised settlement includes new protections to prevent retaliation to farmers that was missing from a settlement proposal denied by a federal judge in March. Settlement papers were filed on Thursday and require approval by a U.S. District Judge. If approved, the cooperative will pay an average of $4,000 to more than 8,000 dairy farms. [node:read-more:link]

The Environmental Protection Agency must protect the Renewable Fuel Standard as Congress originally defined it nearly a decade ago, Iowa farmer Randy Caviness told the EPA at a public hearing today. He testified on behalf of Iowa Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau Federation. [node:read-more:link]

A man whose loose bull wandered onto a road and was hit by a car, killing the driver, is facing an involuntary manslaughter charge, the prosecutor said, and farmers are worried about the harm a conviction could do to the state’s agriculture economy.  Farmers and friends packed a legal proceeding at a courthouse Monday in support of bull owner Craig Mosher, whose lawyer has called the car crash “a horrible accident.” [node:read-more:link]

The Humane Society of the United States intended to call attention to alleged animal abuses at New England’s largest egg producer in Turner, Maine, but the state’s governor recently took issue with the animal rights group’s tactics — the use of undercover video.  In a strongly worded letter to HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle, Gov. Paul LePage took the organization to task for using the undercover video to publicly rebuke the company in order to prompt an investigation instead of notifying his office directly. [node:read-more:link]

An animal welfare group released undercover video Tuesday of what it called cruel and inhumane conditions at New England's largest egg-producing farm, and said it had asked state and federal officials to investigate. The employee had been hired to work at the facility, managed by Pennsylvania-based Hillandale Farms, but was secretly investigating for the society, said Paul Shapiro, the Humane Society of the United States's vice president of farm animal protection. [node:read-more:link]

You think farming is easy?   It can seem that way from the outside looking in. Plant seeds. Watch them grow. And harvest the crop a few months later.   That’s how it works in our gardens, right?  Yes. But this is different. It’s running tractors and plows. Early mornings. Night owls. Farmers and ranchers hedging their bets that their crops and livestock will be a success. [node:read-more:link]