2023

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Survey: How far have women in farming come in past 10 years?

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly Farmers Weekly has launched a landmark survey to measure the progress which has been made for women in agriculture over the past ten years. The views of women and men are being sought as part of the research, which builds on a similar survey carried out by Farmers Weekly in 2014. It is being supported […] The post Survey: How far have women in farming come in past 10 years?

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EATING SOLAR PANELS 

The Lunatic Farmer

A wonderful young homesteading couple from Indiana visited us over the weekend with a first person disconcerting story. Two weeks after moving into their dream homestead on 40 acres, they learned that the surrounding 3,200 acres and another 5,000 acres just down the road were leased for solar farms. Upon learning about this, they immediately asked the solar company if it would buy their land, but of course these outfits don’t buy land; they just lease it.

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This Oregon Farmer Is Building a New Model for Indigenous Food and Agriculture

Civil Eats

Like many Alaska Natives , Spring Alaska Schreiner ( Chugach Alaska Native Corporation / Valdez Native Tribe ) grew up exercising her subsistence rights with her family—gathering berries, digging clams with her mom, catching and cleaning fish alongside her uncles. She recalls being surrounded by endless natural bounty throughout her childhood in Valdez , a waterfront city situated near the head of a deep fjord in Prince William Sound.

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Saving Seeds Today Protects Food Systems Tomorrow

Food Tank

A version of this piece was featured in Food Tank’s newsletter, released weekly on Thursdays. To make sure it lands straight in your inbox and to be among the first to receive it, subscribe now by clicking here. Across all of human history, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, more than 6,000 plant species have been cultivated for food.

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Farmers planning demonstrations to urge Senate to approve Bill C-234

Real Agriculture

Farmers are planning to hold public rallies on Parliament Hill and other locations next week, calling on the Senate to pass Bill C-234. While no farm or political groups are officially involved, multiple sources say individuals are organizing a rally to be held on Tuesday (November 21) on Parliament Hill. The demonstration would coincide with.

Farming 363
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The Farm Bill Expired. What Happens Now?

Modern Farmer

Remind me—what is the farm bill again? The US Farm Bill is a package of legislation that gets passed approximately every five years, and it more or less shapes the landscape of American agriculture. There have been 18 iterations of this legislation. A lot of important items are rolled into it: crop subsidies, crop insurance, nutrition assistance, conservation programs and much more.

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Lead in baby food pouches: not a pretty story

Food Politics

A few weeks ago, the FDA announced volunary recalls of 3 brands of baby pouches containing apple sauce with cinnamon, because they contained excess lead. Lead is poisonous to children’s nervous systems and brain development; there is n o safe level of lead intake. DO NOT LET YOUR KIDS EAT THESE PRODUCTS! The FDA inspected the plant in Ecuador where cinnamon apple sauce is made; the amounts of lead were shockingly high.

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Livestock guardian dogs: Unsung heroes of the livestock protection business

AgriLife Today

Special canines save sheep, goats from predators Livestock guardian dogs are rockstars in the canine world, even if most people never see them perform live. These unique animals are so important to the ranching industry that the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in San Angelo created an entire program dedicated to these livestock.

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Kaleb Cooper: ‘I think farming chose me, in a weird way’

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly Clarkson’s Farm star Kaleb Cooper rose to fame after appearing on Jeremy Clarkson’s hit TV show, which documented the highs and lows of running Diddly Squat – a 400ha farm in the Cotswolds.

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Farewell and Thanks to Jorge, Our Headquarters People’s Gardener

USDA Blog

If you follow the #PeoplesGarden on social media, you’ve seen informative videos by Jorge Penso, the lead gardener at the national headquarters People’s Garden in Washington, D.C.

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Professor Caroline Dean awarded McClintock Prize  

Agri-tech

The ground-breaking career of Professor Dame Caroline Dean FRS has been recognised with the prestigious Barbara McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies. The international award is made to outstanding plant scientists working on genetics and genomics. “I am thrilled and honoured to receive this award in recognition of the work of my group at the John Innes Centre over many years,”.

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Two Likely Dicamba-Resistant Waterhemp Populations Found In Iowa

AgWeb Farm Journal

Illinois, Missouri and Nebraska have previously confirmed populations of dicamba-resistant waterhemp. Extension stresses the importance of not allowing any seed-bearing waterhemp to remain in the field at harvest.

Seeding 142
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New livestock drug rules collide with rural vet shortages

Western FarmPress

As all medically important antibiotics transition to prescription only and rural veterinarian numbers dwindle, livestock producers are caught in the crossfire.

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Op-Ed | Why the World’s Food Systems Need to Transition Away from Industrial Agriculture

Food Tank

Current food systems are responsible for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and for nearly 80 percent of biodiversity loss. Moreover, they contribute to forest destruction, the displacement of communities, water pollution and soil degradation. They are often based on chemical-dependent monocultures which makes them vulnerable to disease and climate related shocks.

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Senate shenanigans leave Bill C-234’s future in jeopardy — again

Real Agriculture

Shenanigans in the Senate on Thursday have created a new cloud of uncertainty surrounding Bill C-234, the embattled private member’s bill that would remove the federal carbon tax from natural gas and propane used on farms for an eight-year period. Farm groups and farmers celebrated the Senate’s rejection of an amended version of the bill.

Farming 360
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Opinion: The EATS Act Threatens Animal Welfare and Public Health While Protecting Corporate Profits

Modern Farmer

For too long, the pork industry has been permitted to inflict what amounts to criminal animal cruelty—with the help of billions of dollars in public funding. Approximately two-thirds of mother pigs, weighing 525 to 790 lbs, are trapped within gestation crates for the entirety of their 114-day pregnancy. These stalls, measuring 2.5 feet by 7 feet, cruelly restrict their mobility, permitting only a few steps forward and backward—an experience similar to enduring months of confinement to an airline

Food 143
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The UNICEF-WHO Congress on infant formula marketing: a brief report

Food Politics

Last week, I attended and spoke at the UNICEF-WHO Global Congress on Implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes at WHO headquarters in Geneva. The meeting was attended by more than 400 government, health, and advocacy representatives from more than 100 countries. Representatives of infant formula companies were not invited to participate.

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Navigating the Policy Puzzle of Incoherency and Conflicting Outcomes 

Farming First

The Africa Climate Summit (ACS) and Africa Climate Week (ACW), alongside the Africa Food System Summit (AGRF), highlighted the crucial need for a sustainable and nature-positive transformation in food production. The post Navigating the Policy Puzzle of Incoherency and Conflicting Outcomes appeared first on Farming First.

Food 130
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Space biology and the out-of-this-world exploration of plant stress

AgriLife Today

Texas A&M AgriLife plant scientist joins a NASA-funded project to help understand how plants grow away from Earth A Texas A&M AgriLife plant scientist is joining the space race, of a sort, by helping to understand how plants can survive in space to support human space exploration. As a Texas A&M AgriLife Research crop physiologist/agroecologist and professor in.

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Farmers Weekly Awards 2023: Farmer of the Year

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly Husband and wife Craig and Claire Grant are the 2023 Farmers Weekly‘s Farmer of the Year – a credit to their innovative farming practices and remarkable work appetite. The couple are true pioneers within the farming industry.

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USDA Offers Many Resources for Veterans

USDA Blog

At the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), we understand the essential role that veterans, military spouses, and transitioning service members can play in revitalizing and strengthening our agricultural industry. This is one of the reasons we provide a range of training resources and support. USDA’s Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison, or MVAL, connects veterans to resources within and outside USDA to help them embark on successful careers in agriculture.

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Pea-powered innovation delivers vitamin B12 daily dose

Agri-tech

Pea shoots which contain the recommended daily dose of vitamin B12 fortified in a single small portion could soon be a tasty and healthy addition to your salad. The team of UK researchers from the John Innes Centre, LettUs Grow and the Quadram Institute have discovered a way to biofortify pea shoots with B12 using ultrasonic aeroponic technology. B12 is traditionally obtained from animal source in.

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New Study Shows Glyphosate Ban Would Drive Up Food Prices

AgWeb Farm Journal

A new report examines a future without glyphosate, showing if the herbicide was no longer available for farmers, the immediate impact would be costly to the economy, farmers and the environment.

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Producer simplifies farming by running older equipment

Western FarmPress

Oklahoma producer Marty Williams was once known as an early adopter. He's traded that status for 1990s equipment and a different perspective, a strategy that's benefitting his mental health.

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Op-Ed | Food Systems Must Change, and Change Must Be Measured

Food Tank

Last week, COP28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, signaled its intent to bring food systems into future COP negotiations. Until now, fixing food systems had hardly been on the environmental agenda, with most attention going to the energy sector. Yet there is a clear consensus that food systems are badly affected by extreme weather events and offer a solution for our climate crisis.

Food 140
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Senate enters unprecedented territory blocking C-234

Real Agriculture

Senators intent on blocking Bill C-234 re-introduced an already-defeated amendment hours after a separate amendment was voted down on Tuesday. It’s the latest move by senators aligned with the Liberal government to obstruct the private member’s bill that would remove the federal carbon levy from natural gas and propane used on farms. First, Senator Lucie.

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The Bourbon Industry Relies on White Oaks, Which Are in Decline. Now, They’re All In on Saving Them

Modern Farmer

There are five key rules to follow when making bourbon whiskey. First, it must be distilled in the United States, and it must be a grain mixture with at least 51 percent corn mash. There can be no additives for color or flavor, and the alcohol content must be at least 80 proof at the time of bottling. Most importantly, however, is that bourbon whiskey must be aged in a fresh, white oak barrel for a minimum of two years.

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The hazards of feeding babies and young children: What to do?

Food Politics

I’ve been collecting items on feeding kids. Here are four. I. FDA Warning Letters : The FDA has sent warning letters to ByHeart, Mead Johnson Nutrition (Reckitt), & Perrigo Wisconsin for violating basic food safety standards in manufacture of infant formula. They [letters] reflect findings from FDA inspections of these facilities over the last several months.

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The Dirt about Biochar – And How It Could Help California

American Farmland

As California #agriculture deals with historic floods, droughts, and wildfires, could a stable, high-carbon soil amendment called “biochar” help improve soil health, mitigate climate change, and protect our food supply?

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VIEWpoly provides visual map for polyploid plant geneticists, breeders

AgriLife Today

Texas A&M Department of Horticultural Sciences leads search for cutting-edge genetic tools for flowering plants Cristiane Taniguti, Ph.D., is doing her part to revolutionize the field of genetic analysis of polyploid plants with her software tool, VIEWpoly. These plants are everywhere in daily life. Polyploids have more than two identical or similar chromosome sets.

Science 131
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Chicken supplier passing off housed birds as free range

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly Meat industry insiders have been warned to look closely at the traceability of any free-range chicken in their supply chains, with one unnamed company believed to be passing off housed birds as free range.

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The Kitchen Sink: An Overlooked Place for Food Safety

USDA Blog

We use the kitchen sink for food preparation – rinsing produce, cleaning pots and pans, washing utensils that touch raw meat, and more. With these activities come the possibility for foodborne illness-causing bacteria to hang out in the sink too. If proper food preparation safety steps are not followed, these bacteria could cross-contaminate your food and make you sick!

Food 144
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Prestigious Horizon Europe funding award to accelerate innovative research in antibiotic-producing bacteria

Agri-tech

Dr Susan Schlimpert and her team have been awarded European funding to take forward their innovative research into the antibiotics of the future. Dr Schlimpert, a group leader at the John Innes Centre, receives a European Research Council consolidator grant, part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme. The award for the project, “Functional Diversity of Bacterial NLRs in Multicellular.

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Global Diesel Shortage Looms

AgWeb Farm Journal

Refineries worldwide are facing challenges in meeting the rising demand for diesel, exacerbated by disruptions in global oil flows caused by OPEC+ output reductions and the conflict in Ukraine.

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What the Expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill Means for Food and Agriculture

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

On October 1, 2023, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 – more commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill – expired. The expiration did not come as a surprise, as Congress’ timeline for reauthorizing the 2018 Farm Bill has been increasingly drawn out for a variety of reasons such that neither the House nor Senate Agriculture Committees have yet been ready to unveil their bills.

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Agroecology Movements Turn Digitization on its Head

Food Tank

Like a hoe or a tractor, digital tools in agriculture may offer farmers opportunities. But as any farmer knows, some tools are better than others. Digital tools can help farmers monitor field conditions in real time, understand soil quality, plan their planting—and connect directly with consumers. Digital tools can also be costly and out of reach for smaller farmers.

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Turkish manufacturer Basak Traktör reaches deal to buy 97% of Versatile parent Buhler Industries

Real Agriculture

The parent company of Basak Traktör — an agricultural manufacturer based in Turkey — has reached a deal to acquire 97 per cent of the shares in Manitoba-based Buhler Industries from Russia’s largest agricultural manufacturer, Rostselmash. Buhler, which employs around 800 people building Versatile tractors and Farm King equipment, has been majority-owned by Rostselmash since.