Senators recognize importance of biosecurity and agro-defense
U.S. Senators Pat Roberts (R., Kan.), Jerry Moran (R., Kan.), Roy Blunt (R., Mo.) and Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) introduced a resolution Feb. 28 to recognize the importance of biosecurity and agro-defense to America’s national and economic security.
"This resolution will remind my colleagues in Washington that addressing critical vulnerabilities to our food supply and agriculture economy remains a top priority," Roberts said. "As we consider measures to improve biosecurity and protect plant and animal health, I will work hard to ensure that our nation has the best resources to do the job.
Zacky Trust keeps turkey company in family
Zacky Farms, the Fresno County turkey producer that filed for bankruptcy last fall, will remain in family hands after all. The Robert and Lillian Zacky Trust successfully won a bid to purchase the company, according to court documents filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in Sacramento. The trust, which had backed out of negotiations to buy the company several weeks ago, offered about $38.8 million in credit, cash and notes in its winning bid. The sale is for "substantially all of the" Zacky Farms assets, including turkey processing plants in Fresno and Stockton, corporate offices in Fresno, two Fresno warehouses, a turkey hatchery in Kerman and 16 company-owned ranches in Fresno and Kings counties, court records show.
New California license plate with farming theme to hit roads
Iowa is known for its corn. Wisconsin for cheese. Texas, cattle. But California is the nation’s leading farm state, something city dwellers don’t always remember when they think about where their food comes from. Now, a new reminder is about to hit the streets. Starting next month, a commemorative "California Agriculture" license plate will begin appearing on vehicles across the Golden State.
Sen. Michael Rubio resigns from California Legislature to work for Chevron
State Sen. Michael Rubio abruptly resigned Friday to accept a position managing California governmental affairs for Chevron Corp., saying a desire to spend more time with his family motivated his […]
30,000 grain sorghum acres target California ethanol plants
The race to produce renewable fuel crops in California is looking like back to the future. Grain sorghum, a crop that once was planted on almost 500,000 acres in the […]
Two more former Butterball workers convicted of animal cruelty
Two former Butterball workers were found guilty late last week of animal cruelty in connection with a 2011 video secretly take by an employee working for Mercy for Animals. Defendants […]
Budget cuts would close meat plants and parks, cause layoffs-USDA
The U.S. Agriculture Department would furlough up to one-third of its workers if automatic spending cuts take effect at the end of the month, the agency warned, with effects ranging […]
California ag industry discusses immigration reforms
Farmers and ranchers worry that their needs for migrant labor will get lost amid the discussions and debates about immigration reform in Washington, D.C.It happened before, said a group of speakers who came Wednesday to Fresno State University to discuss what California’s agriculture industry needs in the next immigration reform bill. In 1986, lawmakers approved a sweeping immigration reform act that included an amnesty program that made nearly 3 million people who had entered the U.S. illegally eligible to stay legally. Read More
Industries try to stop higher-ethanol fuel
A coalition of oil and food industry groups filed a petition with the Supreme Court Thursday asking it to overturn a lower court decision that said they didn’t have standing to sue over a federal decision to allow more ethanol in fuel. The American Petroleum Institute’s Bob Greco said the groups also plan to ask Congress to overturn the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) that he says is "simply unsustainable" because of the allowance of higher levels of ethanol.
Poultry litter not responsible for weed surge
You don’t catch a cold from cold weather. Rubbing a corn kernel on a wart and then burying it under the doorstep will not make the wart dry up. And you don’t get weeds in your fields from applying poultry litter. At least that’s what the little research currently available shows. "We don’t have a lot of research on whether applying poultry litter to cropland increases weed pressure," says Joseph Payne, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock specialist.