March, 2024

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4-H Canada forced to lay off staff following major federal funding cut

Real Agriculture

4-H Canada says it has had to make the difficult decision to lay off seven staff members following a major cut to the funding it receives from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Food 363
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An update on Nutri-Score: despite food industry opposition, it’s doing well

Food Politics

A recent opinion piece in the Washington Post explains why the FDA should establish front-of-package nutrition labeling here and now: These countries are doing nutrition labels the right way Christina Roberto, Alyssa Moran, and Kelly Brownell contrast the “ stop signs you’ll see in Mexico, the Nutri-Score system used in France, or the Health Star Ratings in New Zealand” with the current lack of a system like those in the United States.

Food 350
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Echándole Ganas: Giving it My All to Honor Legacy and Elevate Voices

USDA Blog

With the end of Women’s History Month coinciding with César Chávez Day, I’ve been reflecting on my personal and professional experience and the journey that has taken me to my current role as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Designated Federal Officer (DFO) of the Equity Commission. It is also extremely fitting that this year’s Women’s History Month theme is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

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Mexico’s Precaution on GM Corn Safety Is Justified

Food Tank

A Presidential decree has banned the use of genetically modified (GM or genetically engineered) corn for food in Mexico. But the governments of the United States and Canada are using the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement (USMCA) to challenge Mexico’s actions. The purpose of Mexico’s restrictions on GM corn is to safeguard the integrity of native corn from GM contamination and to protect human health.

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BREAKING: Mystery Illness Impacting Texas, Kansas Dairy Cattle is Confirmed as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Strain

AgWeb Farm Journal

BREAKING: Mystery Illness Impacting Texas, Kansas Dairy Cattle is Confirmed as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Strain apiuser Mon, 03/25/2024 - 13:45

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The Iowa Trout Stream at the Center of a Feedlot Fight

Civil Eats

In 2017, Larry Stone heard whispers about construction taking place near his home in Clayton County, Iowa. A retired photographer, Stone pulled up to the site, located around 20 miles away from where he lives, and began taking photos. “A guy came roaring up on his little ATV and said, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’” Stone recalled recently. His curiosity eventually landed Stone a tour of the project: Walz Energy, a joint venture between a cattle-feeding operation and an energy company.

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Interest-free portion of Advanced Payments Program set at $250,000 for 2024

Real Agriculture

Canadian farmers have been making plans for the 2024 season assuming that the interest-free portion of the Advanced Payments Program would revert back to the pre-2022 level of $100,000. As of today, however, farmers will have access to the first $250,000 interest-free, following an announcement by Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

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More Trending

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Growing Opportunities for Women in Agriculture

USDA Blog

The National Women in Agriculture Association (NWIAA) headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla. has operated for 16 years, grown to 60 chapters, and has big goals to help underserved communities succeed in agriculture.

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Why Africa’s Livestock Intensification Cannot Leave Women Behind

Farming First

GALVMed experts highlight initiatives to ensure gender-equitable livestock intensification for women livestock keepers. The post Why Africa’s Livestock Intensification Cannot Leave Women Behind appeared first on Farming First.

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There's a New Way to Cash in on Your CI Score on the Farm, Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act

AgWeb Farm Journal

The new 45Z tax credit passed in the Inflation Reduction Act, slated to take effect Jan. 1, 2025, means a farmer's carbon intensity score will soon be worth more, especially if your corn goes to an ethanol plant.

Farming 135
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Where to Find Free Food March 2024

Share Food Program

Philly Food Rescue partners are hosting the following pop-up free food distributions this month (March 2024)! These events are in addition to all of our pantries’ & partners’ regularly scheduled distributions, which you can find more info about using our Find Food Map. March Philly Food Rescue Partner Distributions PFR partner distributions are open to anyone—there are no income or other eligibility requirements to receive free food.

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Farming Forward: Using SWAT maps to inform nitrogen management decisions

Real Agriculture

Soil tests are one tool for determining fertilizer needs of a particular field, but several other factors impact the overall productivity of any soil zone, regardless of nutrient level. Factors, such as physical make up of the soil, salinity, internal drainage, field position, and organic matter levels, all play a role in determining the high-yield.

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Inside the fire line: Images from the Smokehouse Creek fire – the largest wildfire in Texas history

AgriLife Today

Texas A&M AgriLife responds to community needs alongside volunteers and other agencies in support of the Texas Panhandle Wildfires that ripped across the Texas Panhandle left in their wake destroyed homes, blackened earth, downed power lines and wandering livestock. But also, an outpouring of support that arrived by the truckloads in the form of hay, Read More → The post Inside the fire line: Images from the Smokehouse Creek fire – the largest wildfire in Texas history appeared f

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Farmworkers are Vital to a Resilient Food System

USDA Blog

Farmworkers make up less than one percent of all U.S. wage and salary workers, but they are vital to the country’s agriculture. They labor every day in fruit orchards and dairy farms, in blazing heat and freezing cold, to ensure that families have food on their tables.

Food 133
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How our paranoia about contamination is threatening local food

Sustainable Food Trust

Patrick Holden discusses how the centralisation of the food system has given rise to an atmosphere of paranoia about bacteria, which, in turn, is placing a disproportionate regulatory burden upon small producers and processors. More and more of us are now recognising that the ultra-processed products of the industrialised food system, which most of us eat to some degree, are making people sick.

Food 126
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Upcoming Congressional Hearing on China’s Threat to U.S. Agriculture and Land Ownership

AgWeb Farm Journal

A congressional hearing scheduled for Wednesday will delve into the perceived threat posed by China to the U.S. agriculture industry, particularly concerning the increasing foreign ownership of American farmland.

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Native Youth Learn to Heal Their Communities Through Mycelium

Civil Eats

A version of this article originally appeared in The Deep Dish, our members-only newsletter. Become a member today and get the next issue directly in your inbox. At Spirit of the Sun , Native American youth are not only learning about traditional ecological knowledge , they’re also empowered to do the teaching. The opportunity to absorb Indigenous wisdom and share that knowledge with the community is what attracted 20-year-old Nyomi Oliver (Navajo/Chicana) to the Denver nonprofit, which offers

Food 125
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Wheat School: How early warm weather impacts the nitrogen strategy

Real Agriculture

When the weather is warm early in the season, every starts talking winter wheat. This spring in Ontario, the winter wheat crop is awake and no one is more excited than RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson. On this episode of the Wheat School, Johnson is walking a wheat field near Georgetown, Ont. The crop is greening. Read More When the weather is warm early in the season, every starts talking winter wheat.

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Impacting Texans’ lives as a neurosurgeon, legislator and medical volunteer

AgriLife Today

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences former student Rep. Greg Bonnen ’88, M.D., awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award When State Rep. James “Greg” Bonnen ’88, M.D., arrived to deliver a guest lecture at the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics on Feb. 22, it was a customary occasion. Read More → The post Impacting Texans’ lives as a neurosurgeon, legislator and medical volunteer appeared first on AgriLife Today.

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Drive and Ambition Fuels this USDA 1890 Scholar

USDA Blog

Kaitlyn Hampton is ambitious and goal oriented. As she embarked on her journey as a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 1890 National Scholar , she simultaneously assumed other responsibilities, such as pursuing her master’s degree. The 1890 Scholars Program complemented her goals, allowing her to pursue her passions through internships and job placements that provided experience.

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Sign on to support farmland equity & local food!

Caff

By signing on to this letter, you’ll be urging state leaders to address land equity and improve access to local markets for small-family farmers. The realities of the climate crisis, divestment in local food supply chains, and inequalities in the economy disproportionately affect California’s smaller-scale food producers, which includes the 1 in 5 California farmers who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

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Ogallala Aquifer Summit 2024: Tackling Tough Water Issues

AgWeb Farm Journal

The Ogallala Aquifer Summit brings diverse stakeholders and policy makers together to collaborate on how best to manage the High Plains’ precious water resources into the future.

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Aiming for long-lasting green cover

Western FarmPress

Forever Green Initiative emphasizes varieties of continuous living cover crops that thrive in harsh winter conditions and provide a harvestable yield while contributing to soil and water conservation.

Yield 122
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Orr named to lead Corteva Agriscience in Canada

Real Agriculture

Loralee Orr has been named as Canada Commercial Leader for Corteva Agriscience. Orr will remain based at Corteva’s Canadian head office at Calgary, Alberta, where she will lead the organization as it delivers a pipeline of new seed and crop protection solutions to Canadian farmers in the years ahead.

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Pioneering the Future of Food: Student Innovators Lead the Way in National STEM Challenge

Food Tank

The National STEM Challenge , presented by EXPLR , is featuring students for their innovative projects focused on bolstering food security, advocating for sustainable agriculture, and advancing agricultural technology. In April, 2024 students recognized through the Challenge will travel to Washington, D.C. to present their work at the National STEM Festival.

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Fungi Are Helping Farmers Unlock the Secrets of Soil Carbon

Civil Eats

A version of this article originally appeared in The Deep Dish, our members-only newsletter. Become a member today and get the next issue directly in your inbox. Timothy Robb peers into a microscope to reveal the underground realm of the living and dying within a fistful of soil. On the glass slide, he sees clumps of golden-brown minerals and organic matter particles, like pebbled splotches of ink.

Farming 122
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Agricultural Land Lost to Development

Ohio State University

The new 2022 Census of Agriculture data shows the number of farms in Ohio declined by 2.3% and in land in farms declined by 6.4% between 2002 and 2022. One number that is concerning to agricultural stakeholders in Ohio is the loss of 931,089 acres in land in farms in Ohio in the last twenty years. The question is how much of the agricultural land in Ohio was lost to development?

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Space Weather: Start Planning Today for Tomorrow’s GPS Outage

AgWeb Farm Journal

Minor space weather events have temporarily knocked out corrections signals over Canada and The Dakotas in the past. Would your farm be ready for a more severe outage?

Farming 137
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Call the right play for diseases, nematodes this season

Western FarmPress

Nematodes are active in fields where peanuts, cotton, corn and soybeans will soon be planted. Active nematodes now could be a significant threat for the next crop in the field.

Crop 122
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Farming Forward: What are the GRASS principles of advanced grazing?

Real Agriculture

Advanced grazing can be summed up in one word: GRASS. But we’re not talking the actual grass, we’re talking about the GRASS principles of advanced grazing. In this episode of the Farming Forward video series, Steve Kenyon of Greener Pastures Ranching, explains the principle that stands for: G – Graze period R – Rest period A.

Pasture 331
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The Kids Aren't All Right

Wisconsin Farmers Union

by Brittany Olson, WFU Rural Correspondent Anyone who knows me knows I talk about mental health a lot. It wasn’t until after my first panic attack in elementary school that my dad told me he had panic attacks, too, and how my grandpa would get them every time he was signed up to give communion at Mass. He vividly remembered Grandpa, the strong and silent type, hyperventilating into a paper bag on the porch.

Farming 119
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Cultivate Food Sovereignty in Your Home Garden with these Resources

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. Every spring, I find much solace and purpose in gardening. This has only been magnified over the past four years. Today, on Leap Day, I’m reflecting on the last time our calendar showed February 29: I’d just returned from visiting friends out of town.

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USDA Scientist Receives Award for Groundbreaking Work to Reconnect Crop and Animal Systems

USDA Blog

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist Sheri Spiegal received an exciting award recognizing her pioneering work integrating social science and biophysical science with stakeholder engagement to help animal producers and crop farmers improve the redistribution of manure nutrients from farms with an excess to fields and pastures that can use it sustainably.

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Corn and Cocaine: Roger Reaves and the Most Incredible Farm Story Never Told

AgWeb Farm Journal

Roger Reaves forged the most astounding farm life of modern times. Row crops to moonshine to marijuana to cocaine, he was the highest paid narco-pilot in history.

Farming 137
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Thinning alfalfa: Should it stay or should it go?

Western FarmPress

Spring is a good time to assess thinning stands of alfalfa, but what considerations should be given before making the tough decision about whether to keep a stand for another year?

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Corn School: Think ‘firming force’ not downforce at planting

Real Agriculture

What’s a planter supposed to do when it rolls into fields and tucks into a fit seedbeed? On this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School, Kearney Planters operations manager Cullen Tinline shares a corn planter furrow management wish list and what growers should expect if their planter is fine-tuned, properly prepped, and rolling in good soil. Read More What’s a planter supposed to do when it rolls into fields and tucks into a fit seedbeed?

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Safety Tips for watching solar eclipse in Texas

AgriLife Today

Texans should start preparing for April 8 event The total solar eclipse is a large-scale natural phenomenon that Texans have not seen since 2017. Something so rare and intriguing is one that will certainly draw the attention of people far and wide within the coming weeks, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts. As. Read More → The post Safety Tips for watching solar eclipse in Texas appeared first on AgriLife Today.

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