The State of Alaska wants out of the meat processing business. Monday, the Division of Agriculture put out a request for proposals for a private operator to take over the Mount Mckinley Meat and Sausage Plant in Palmer. [node:read-more:link]
A bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that aims to limit the total volume of ethanol contained in transportation fuel to 9.7 percent. Members of the ethanol industry have spoken out to criticize the legislation. [node:read-more:link]
In Washington, news arrived from Advanced Biofuels USA that the “Defense Department Budget put together by Republican leadership would stop the US Navy from buying biofuels for the Fleet. [node:read-more:link]
A State by STate Snapshot
As coal dependence falters in the U.S., wind-powered electricity generation is on the rise. In less than a decade, the mix of fuels used for generating electricity has gone a major shift. [node:read-more:link]
Sugar, you might think, is just sugar, no matter where it comes from. But not anymore.
About half of all sugar in the U.S. comes from sugar beets, and the other half comes from sugar cane. Now, for the first time, sugar traders are treating these as two different commodities, with two different prices. [node:read-more:link]
U.S. sugar beet farmers are expected to reap a record harvest next year, undeterred by a trend among some food manufacturers to favor their competitor, cane sugar that's not genetically modified (non-GMO), the government forecast on Tuesday.
In its first estimate for the upcoming season that starts on Oct. 1, U.S. farmers will harvest 5.09 million short tons (4.62 million tonnes) of sugar from beet, an all-time high and up slightly from 5.06 million tons, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast on Tuesday and data since 1959/1960. [node:read-more:link]
Hawaii’s fourth-largest island, says Paxton, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, is seeing a sudden, rapid decline in native birds. The prime suspect is avian malaria. It’s being spread by mosquitoes and it kills rare birds such as the 'i'iwi, a bright red honeycreeper with a curvy Dr. Seuss beak. Surveys carried out on the island’s rugged, roadless interior are finding fewer birds than ever before. Extinction for some species looks imminent. [node:read-more:link]
Illinois hog producers who filed more than 120 expansion notices with state regulators in 2015 already have filed half as many this year. Consumer demand and the best pork prices in years are driving the expansion. [node:read-more:link]
The Farm Credit Administration says farmland prices continue to soften across the country, particularly in the Midwest. At a monthly meeting last week, the Farm Credit Administration Board heard a report on farmland values across the nation. The report says a third consecutive year of declining crop prices and reduced farm income is causing cropland values to soften. The decrease follows five years of double-digit price increases since 2009 for most Midwest states, with cropland values reaching record levels in 2014. [node:read-more:link]
Nearly 90 percent of Americans have a favorable view of farmers, and 92 percent said it was important to provide them with federal funding, according to a new national poll. This is an important finding since the public’s view of farmers and support for crop insurance are critical policy issues. Budget-cutting bureaucrats and anti-agriculture activists have long mounted attacks on crop insurance in an effort to derail the program. [node:read-more:link]
