2024

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North West Terminal suspends elevator operation and grain purchases

Real Agriculture

The board of directors for a large farmer-owned grain elevator in western Saskatchewan has decided to idle its facility as a result of negative margins that it anticipates will continue into next year. North West Terminal Ltd. (NWT) at Unity, Sask. is suspending all purchases of grain, and has cancelled its elevator license with the.

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Dietary guidelines II. Where is rigorous nutrition research?

Food Politics

In considering the effects of ultra-processed foods, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) only dealt with observational research. It excluded what I consider the most important study ever done to explain weight gain: the controlled clinical trial of ultra-processed versus processed diets done at NIH in 2019. This study is hugely important for four reasons: The ultra-processed and minimally processed diets were matched for nutrients and palatability; study subjects could not tell wh

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State agriculture officials to address trade opportunities between the U.S and Cuba

NASDA

Press Release WHO: National Association of State Departments of Agriculture CEO, several NASDA members and a NASDA industry guest will host a press conference to discuss learned opportunities and challenges to agricultural trade between the U.S. and Cuba on Feb. 21, 2024, following a NASDA-led trade mission to the country. Press Conference Participants: Ted McKinney, CEO, NASDA Amanda Beal, Commissioner, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry Bryan Hurlburt, Commissioner

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Capturing carbon from the air just got easier

Berkeley Blog

A new type of porous material called a covalent organic framework quickly sucks up carbon dioxide from ambient air The post Capturing carbon from the air just got easier appeared first on Berkeley News.

Science 145
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A 2501 Grant Connects Spanish-Speaking South Texas Farmers with Agriculture Opportunities at USDA

USDA Blog

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Advancement (SARA) supports rural communities through strategies that address environmental, economic and social aspects of agricultural sustainability. Additionally, SARA encourages its university faculty and students to engage in research, education and hands-on learning experiences in these communities.

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How bread dough gave rise to civilisation

Agri-tech

A major international study has explained how bread wheat helped to transform the ancient world on its path to becoming the iconic crop that today sustains a global population of eight billion. “Our findings shed new light on an iconic event in our civilisation that created a new kind of agriculture and allowed humans to settle down and form societies,” said Professor Brande Wulff.

Crop 145
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Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not Need

Civil Eats

What Our Investigation Revealed Nearly all commodity corn farmers receive seed coated with neonics each season. Many cannot identify the chemical coating on their seeds and only opt for it because a seed salesperson recommends it. Companies have made it nearly impossible for farmers to find corn seed that isn’t coated with neonics. Farmers often feel peer pressure not to ask questions or change their practices in the face of concerns about neonics’ safety.

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More Trending

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More rice sales to Cuba could help both countries

Western FarmPress

Increased trade only strengthens economic ties between the U.S. and Cuba but also plays a crucial role in addressing food security challenges on the island, according to USA Rice.

Food 128
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Mexico Is Right to Reject GMO Tortillas

Food Tank

A trade dispute between Mexico and the United States over genetically engineered (GMO) corn is pitting science against the power of the pesticide industry. On both sides of the border, and perhaps worldwide, this dispute promises to focus a new generation of eaters, public health scientists, and political leaders on what is known, and not known, about the safety of food made from GMO corn.

Pesticide 144
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Hay, feed, fencing supplies needed to support Texas Panhandle wildfire victims

AgriLife Today

Wildfires leave damages across more than 1 million acres Donations of hay, feed, fencing supplies, cow feed and milk replacer are needed to support livestock owners impacted by the devastating wildfires that have scorched ranchland across a large portion of the Texas Panhandle. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is establishing Animal Supply Points in several.

Livestock 145
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7 provinces call for immediate reversal of capital gains tax changes

Real Agriculture

Agriculture ministers from seven out of ten provinces are calling on the federal government to immediately reverse changes to the capital gains tax that they say are hurting farmers and the agriculture sector. As of June 25, the annual capital gains inclusion rate – the taxable portion of a capital gain, such as the sale.

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Weekend Reading: Soda Science

Food Politics

Susan Greenhalgh. Soda Science: Making the World Safe for Coca-Cola. University of Chicago Press, 2024. This terrific book picks up where I left off with Soda Politics: Taking on Big Soda (and Winning) (2015) and Unsavory Truth: How the Food Industry Skews the Science of What We Eat (2018). Susan Greenhalgh’s focus, however, is on ILSI, the International Life Sciences Institute (now renamed the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences).

Science 342
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Dining with the Dead

Rachel Laudan

[A slightly edited version of a piece I originally published on October 31st, 2015] Every year of the fifteen I lived in Mexico I enjoyed seeing graves decorated with flowers,… The post Dining with the Dead appeared first on Rachel Laudan.

Food 119
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Times Higher Ed ranks UC Berkeley No.1 public university in U.S.

Berkeley Blog

Berkeley also moved up to 8th best in the world overall in the 2024 report. The post Times Higher Ed ranks UC Berkeley No.1 public university in U.S. appeared first on Berkeley News.

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Breaking barriers, honoring diversity and advancing inclusion: USDA Partners with University of North Carolina at Pembroke to Expand Opportunities for Tribal Students

USDA Blog

October is a special month, full of opportunities to reflect on the beauty and strength found in our diversity. As we celebrate both Global Diversity Awareness Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we’re reminded of how different perspectives and experiences can shape a more inclusive future. These observances push us toward a shared goal: creating an environment where everyone—regardless of their background—can thrive.

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Finding hidden genetic treasure: study uncovers untapped diversity in historic wheat collection

Agri-tech

A decade-long collaborative study has discovered huge genetic potential that is untapped in modern wheat varieties. The international study which appears in Nature reveals that at least 60% of the genetic diversity found in a historic collection of wheat is unused providing an unprecedented opportunity to improve modern wheat and sustainably feed a growing global population.

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Our Reporting Is Now Free for Everyone

Civil Eats

When Civil Eats launched in 2009, no major media outlets focused on the relationship between food and other significant social and political issues. For the past 15 years, we have led the charge in creating robust conversations around food and farming, and worked to make complicated, underreported stories more accessible to a mainstream audience. In that time, our stories have had significant impact and reach, thanks in part to support from our readers and donors.

Food 142
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NEW: USDA Confirms Cow-to-Cow Transmission a Factor in Avian Flu Spread

AgWeb Farm Journal

USDA said this week cow-to-cow transmission is a factor in the spread of avian flu in dairy herds, but it still does not know exactly how the virus is being moved around.

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FP Next: What you need to know about carbon programs

Western FarmPress

Ep. 17. We're talking shop with Farm Futures Senior Editor Ben Potter, as he shares farmer perspectives on current carbon program details, as well as history of carbon credits.

Farming 140
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23 Fall Food and Agriculture Books to Discover Now

Food Tank

This fall, Food Tank serves up a list of 23 new titles that explore the complex world that food eaters face today. Awaiting Their Feast, and Life and Death of the American Worker dive into some of the realities that workers face within the food system. Transfarmation and Industrial Farm Animal Production, the Environment, and Public Health focus on the experience within the animal agriculture industry.

Food 133
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Top barbecue tips from the ‘Three Brisketeers’

AgriLife Today

Texas A&M AgriLife experts share four tidbits every barbecue lover should know The post Top barbecue tips from the ‘Three Brisketeers’ appeared first on AgriLife Today.

Science 137
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Labour minister imposing binding arbitration to end railway shutdown

Real Agriculture

The federal government is invoking its authority under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to put an end to the unprecedented shutdown of both of Canada’s national railways, less than a day after CN and CPKC locked out more than nine thousand workers who were otherwise set to go on strike a minute after.

Logistics 352
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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 358
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The unseen costs of Tesco’s milk cutbacks: A threat to smaller dairies as mega-farms expand

Sustainable Food Trust

SFT CEO, Patrick Holden, responds to the recent announcement from Tesco’s to cut a number of farmers from their Sustainable Dairy Group – a decision which Patrick calls ‘misguided’. I’ve just read in Farmers Weekly that Tesco has announced their decision to reduce the number of dairy farmers in their milk supply pool , giving just 12-months’ notice to those who will be dropped.

Farming 127
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To make children better fact-checkers, expose them to more misinformation — with oversight

Berkeley Blog

"We need to give children experience flexing these skepticism muscles and using these critical thinking skills within this online context," a UC Berkeley psychology researcher said. The post To make children better fact-checkers, expose them to more misinformation — with oversight appeared first on Berkeley News.

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Gearing up to Celebrate the International Year of the Woman Farmer

USDA Blog

Did you know that women are responsible for roughly half of the world’s food production? The United Nations’ designation of 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer gives the global community a chance to highlight that fact and celebrate the incredibly important role women play in ensuring global food security. At the same time, it’s an unprecedented opportunity to underscore – and to address – the myriad social and economic challenges that women in agriculture face worldwide.

Food 140
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Outstanding John Innes Centre scientists elected as Fellows of the Royal Society

Agri-tech

Two leading John Innes Centre scientists have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society. Professor Graham Moore, who is director of the John Innes Centre and Professor Saskia Hogenhout, a group leader, are among 90 exceptional researchers from across the world elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences. Professor Hogenhout’s group at the John Innes.

Science 145
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Good Goats Make Good Neighbors

Civil Eats

On a sunny California day, Ricky Bobby the goat chomps across a hillside with the speed and pizazz of his NASCAR driver namesake from Talladega Nights. Along with his fellow herd members, all employed by the nonprofit Happy Goat to reduce wildfire risks, Ricky Bobby is doing what he does best, gobbling up weeds, shrubs, and leaves from low-hanging branches.

Acre 137
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Goodbye, El Niño. Hello, La Niña? The Big Transition to La Niña is Already Underway

AgWeb Farm Journal

There's now a 60% chance La Niña will develop between June and August and an 85% chance it's in effect by November 2024 to January 2025, according to NOAA.

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What you can learn from 700 people in a machine shed

Western FarmPress

My Generation: Loss has run tragically deep in one farm neighborhood this fall. Here are those stories, and the love that remains.

Farming 145
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Hardline U.S. Stance Ignores Non-GM Corn Opportunity for U.S. Farmers

Food Tank

United States commodity organizations have cheered on the U.S. government as it tries to get Mexico’s restrictions on genetically modified (GM) corn declared in violation of our trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, arguing that it cuts farmers’ export markets and sales revenues. But what if Mexico’s modest restrictions could instead turn out to benefit U.S. farmers who shift to premium non-genetically modified (GM) corn markets as international corn prices fall?

Marketing 144
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Texas Panhandle wildfires: Documenting agricultural losses

AgriLife Today

Digital photos, video, ownership records vital in reporting procedures Landowners who have experienced Panhandle wildfire losses to agricultural infrastructure or livestock are advised to properly document losses in preparation for filing insurance claims or qualifying for federal assistance. “It is recommended that landowners take photos of deceased livestock before burial, as well as burned equipment, Read More → The post Texas Panhandle wildfires: Documenting agricultural losses appeare

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Nebraska’s largest feedlot, owned by Canadians, nearly ready to receive cattle

Real Agriculture

The full version of this article, written by Paul Hamel, was originally published in the Nebraska Examiner. This shortened version appears here on RealAg under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. LINCOLN, Nebraska — Construction workers are hurrying to put the final touches on what is planned to be the state’s largest feedlot for.

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Weekend reading: Industrial farm animal production

Food Politics

James Merchant and Robert Martin, eds. Public Health Impacts of Industrial Farm Animal Production. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024. I served on the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production with both authors about 15 years ago and was happy to do a blurb for their book. This hard-hitting book defies meat industry pressure and obfuscation to document the devastating effects of its current production methods on the quality of air and water and on human health.

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Why The Atlantic Hurricane Season Has Been So Quiet Recently

Climate and Agriculture in the Southeast

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about why the Atlantic hurricane season recently has been strangely inactive considering we are currently near the climatological peak of activity.

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Economist James A. Robinson, a new Nobel laureate, left a lasting impact in his years at UC Berkeley

Berkeley Blog

Robinson helped to transform the study of development in low-income countries, and built a network of influential former students. His win is now one of four 2024 Nobel Prizes awarded to scholars with UC Berkeley connections. The post Economist James A. Robinson, a new Nobel laureate, left a lasting impact in his years at UC Berkeley appeared first on Berkeley News.

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E. Kika De La Garza Fellow Helps Students Step Out of Their Comfort Zone

USDA Blog

Nearly twenty years ago, all that Dr. Circe Niezen, professor at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (PUPR), knew about the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was the USDA approval sticker on her luggage for agricultural safety when she traveled from Puerto Rico to the continental United States.