Even if the U.S. Supreme Court gives Florida a favorable ruling in its lawsuit against Georgia over water flow into the Apalachicola River, the decision likely would result in more litigation and new legal challenges involving the decades-old water war between the states. Those were the observations of five legal experts who on Thursday addressed a conference at Florida State …
USDA/NIFA Invests in Exploratory Research
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded grants to support the initial development of innovative ideas in agriculture and food production through the Exploratory Research Grants (ERG) program. Funding is made possible through NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. The ERG program fosters the creation …
USDA Decides Not to Impose Additional Regulatory Requirements for Organic Producers and Handlers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the decision to withdraw the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) final rule published on Jan. 19, 2017. The rule would have increased federal regulation of livestock and poultry for certified organic producers and handlers. The withdrawal becomes effective May 13, 2018. Significant policy and legal issues were identified after the rule published …
More Definitive Food Profiles
Methods for analyzing food samples developed by an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist in Maryland capture what could be considered the most definitive nutrient profiles possible for many of the foods we eat. Craig Byrdwell, an analytical chemist in the ARS Food Composition and Methods Development Laboratory in Beltsville, has found a way to use seven different detectors—four mass spectrometers and one gas and …
Ethanol Industry Workers, Veterans Ask Trump To Support RFS
Plant managers, general managers, and CEOs from 150 biofuel production facilities, including nearly every Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) producer member, sent a letter to President Trump today, urging him to continue to “stand strong in defense of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).” President Trump met last week with ethanol and oil industry stakeholders, including RFA members, to discuss the RFS …
New Study: RIN Price Cap for E15 RVP Waiver “Deal” Would Cut Ethanol Consumption and Trounce Corn Prices
Any action to artificially cap Renewable Identification Number (RIN) prices in exchange for an RVP waiver allowing year-round sale of E15 would be bad deal for rural America and the nation’s consumers, according to a new economic analysis released Tuesday. Such a tradeoff would result in reduced ethanol consumption, a drop in corn prices, and an effective cut of 5% …
UF Study: To Help Prevent Harmful Algal Blooms, Limit Nitrogen and Phosphorus
Algal blooms can kill fish and harm a lake’s ecosystem, but by reducing two nutrients together such as nitrogen and phosphorus – not just one or the other — water managers might limit the blooms in lakes and rivers, a new University of Florida study shows. To come to this conclusion, UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers used …
Grain, Dairy Markets Worried About Trade War
Analysts are saying that President Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could be hard on farmers. Farm Journal’s Ag Web Dot Com points out that, while Trump hasn’t officially imposed the tariffs, the decision doesn’t have the support of his entire Cabinet and has raised eyebrows all over the world. Jeff Harrison of Combest, Sell, and …
Free Trade vs Fair Trade: In Search of the Facts, and a Level Playing Field
Few farming industries in the U.S. are more misunderstood, or perhaps more misrepresented, than the sugar industry. Each time updates for farm legislation is considered, many of the same worn out, inaccurate and biased arguments from anti-sugar forces return to the stage of debate, most often funded by a small core of Sponsored ContentNuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024CIR …
No New Funds for a Farm Bill
The House Agriculture Committee has released information concerning efforts to craft a farm bill, revealing closed door plans to roll out a new bill. Committee Chair, Mike Conaway, led the panel’s approval of its annual Budget Views and Estimates Letter to the House Budget Committee. And he says there are no new funds for a farm bill. No New Funds …