RFA Statement on EPA Efforts to Provide Greater Transparency on RFS

Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced new efforts to provide greater transparency in the Renewable Identification Number (RIN) market, used to show compliance with annual Renewable Fuel Standard requirements. As part of this announcement, EPA said it will be providing aggregated annual data on small refiner exemptions, as well as waiver requests for current and future compliance years. RFA President …

Plains Peanut Festival is Saturday

The 22nd Annual Plains Peanut Festival will be held Saturday, September 22nd in Plains, Georgia. Tyron Spearman has more information. Plains Peanut Festival is Saturday Highlights from the 21st Annual Plains Peanut Festival Courtesy Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts For more information and to view a schedule of activities, visit the official website of the Plains Peanut Festival at www.plainsgeorgia.com. Sponsored …

Less Likely to Get Farm Bill Done in Time

Getting a September farm bill in time to replace expiring law appears less likely as difficult House-Senate negotiations will now stretch into the final week of the month. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, a farm bill conference committee member, says in an Omaha World-Herald editorial, House-Senate negotiators are now “running into problems” hashing out differences over farm subsidies, conservation support, and …

Storm Impacts on N.C. Swine and Poultry Sectors

North Carolina state agriculture officials continue assessing hog and poultry mortality, and prepare for clean-up operations, in the wake of Hurricane Florence. Rod Bain has this update. Storm Impacts on N.C. Swine and Poultry Sectors-1 And North Carolina State Veterinarian Doug Meckes explains how hog and poultry producers in their state were able to save several of their animals from …

Georgia Grown Baby Barn Coming to 2018 Georgia National Fair

The Georgia Grown Baby Barn, a live birthing center and nursery for farm animals, will open its doors for the first time at the upcoming 2018 Georgia National Fair in Perry Oct. 4-14.  The Georgia Department of Agriculture – in collaboration with the Georgia National Fair Board, the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association and Georgia’s animal industry partners– are excited to …

Is Canada Purposefully Dragging Out NAFTA Negotiations?

As Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland returned to Washington, D.C. for continued NAFTA negotiations, a prominent Congressional member says time is running out. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise says sentiment is building among members of Congress that Canada is purposefully dragging out the negotiations for political purposes. “Members of Congress are concerned that Canada doesn’t seem to be ready …

Florence Washing Away Cotton and Tobacco Crops

The record-setting and still-rising floodwaters of Hurricane Florence are wreaking havoc on cotton and tobacco crops in the Carolinas. North Carolina Farm Bureau spokesperson Lynda Loveland says it’s going to take some time to get an accurate picture of the damage to flooded tobacco, cotton, corn, soybean, and sweet potato fields because they’re still flooded. Bloomberg says it’s going to …

Foraging for Safe, Edible Mushrooms

Cathy Isom continues her series on mushrooms by giving us a few tips about what’s safe and what’s not safe, when foraging for mushrooms. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Foraging for Safe, Edible Mushrooms September is National Mushroom Month and that may have many foraging enthusiasts out on the hunt for mushrooms. Non-edible mushrooms are often found in …

Global Pork Production Shifting Because of Virus

A Rabobank report says the African Swine Fever virus has shifted the outlook for the global pork industry. The virus was first found in China and has now been confirmed in Belgium. Rabobank says the potential for the spread of the disease around the world has increased exponentially. Twenty cases have been confirmed in China. The Rabobank report says, “It’s …