Legislation introduced last week in the U.S. Senate would revise existing trucking regulations to make the rules more flexible for drivers hauling livestock, according to the National Pork Producers Council. The “Modernizing Agricultural Transportation Act” would establish a working group at the Department of Transportation to examine the federal Hours of Service rules and the Electronic Logging Device regulations. The …
FDA to Hold Fake Meat Public Meeting
The Food and Drug Administration is seeking public comment on fake meat, or foods produced using animal cell culture technology. The FDA will hold a public meeting next month to gather comments. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says the organization will participate in the public meeting, and will advocate for Department of Agriculture oversight of lab-grown fake meat products. NCBA …
Perdue to Keynote United Fresh Event
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will join United Fresh attendees as the opening keynote speaker next week in Chicago. United Fresh says Perdue will address the key issues facing the produce industry, from immigration reform and the need for a legal workforce to the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the need to retain a fair international trade framework for agriculture. …
NRCS Offering Conservation Client Gateway
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) wants to remind farmers, ranchers and private landowners that many of the business issues they may need to take care of with NRCS can be done right there from their home or farm office. NRCS offers their secure online portal called Conservation Client Gateway. Through it you can request NRCS technical and financial assistance, review …
ELD Mandates, Excluding Livestock, Effective June 18
The deadline for transporters of agricultural commodities, excluding livestock, to obtain an electronic logging device (ELD) is June 18. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA), exemptions include those transporting agricultural commodities within 150 air miles. Motor carriers utilizing the agricultural commodities exemption — like other hours of service rule exemptions — are excluded from ELD requirements if they …
Judge Sides with Environmentalists in Land Conservation Dispute
Striking a blow to the Legislature, a Tallahassee judge said state lawmakers failed to comply with a voter-approved constitutional amendment to buy and preserve environmentally sensitive lands. Ruling from the bench Friday, Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson sided with environmental groups in the lawsuit centered on whether lawmakers “defied” the 2014 Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative by improperly …
Georgia Ag Commissioner Applauds Injunction Blocking Enforcement of ‘WOTUS’ Rule
Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black is applauding action recently taken by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia to grant a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the burdensome Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. “This rule was a blatant overreach of the federal government,” Commissioner Black said. “We are pleased that the courts clearly saw the irreparable …
Brand New Georgia Forage Website
The University of Georgia Forage Extension program has a lot of information on its website, so transitioning their site to a new format has been a major undertaking. But it was recently announced that the final product of months of work have come to fruition. The brand new georgiaforages.com website transition is complete and the new site is up and running. If you spent …
House Farm Bill Prospects Improving
House Republican leadership worked out a deal to bring up two different immigration bills for votes next week. One of the bills is the conservative measure authored by Representative Bob Goodlatte that the Freedom Caucus wanted to be brought up for a vote before they would commit votes to the farm bill. Because that vote was in place, Freedom Caucus …
Ag Groups Want #TradeNotTariffs
Ag groups have spent weeks engaging the Trump Administration for more insight into the future of trade tariffs. Those agricultural producers and related industries that depend on exports are now turning to Congress for help. The White House declared that Friday would be the day it announces the final list of $50 billion in Chinese products that would be charged …