Community news from around the area

Urban Mission Ministries will be serving as a third-year sponsor for the Ohio Department of Education, USDA Summer Food Service Program, which begins Monday and continues through Aug. 17. Urban Mission will host six sites - five of them in Steubenville and one open site in Wintersville, according to Cynthia Lytle, summer food program director, ... (more)

RPT-Cotton makes a comeback in U.S. Plains as farmers sour on wheat

Farmers in Kansas and Oklahoma are planting more land with cotton than they have for decades as they ditch wheat, attracted by relatively high cotton prices and the crop's ability to withstand drought. A 20-percent increase from last year marks a sharp turnaround for the crop that once dominated the Mississippi Delta into Texas.

U.S. Takes Action Against Canadian Trade Measures That Discriminate Against U.S. Wine

U.S. TAKES ACTION AGAINST CANADIAN TRADE MEASURES THAT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST U.S. WINE May 29, 2018 Source: USDA news release U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer announced today that the Trump Administration has requested that the World Trade Organization establish a dispute settlement panel to examine unfair regulations governing the sale of wine in grocery stores in the Canadian province of British Columbia . The Office of the United States Trade Representative is challenging BC regulations that discriminate against U.S. and other imported wine by allowing only BC wine to be sold on regular grocery store shelves.

USDA, University Study Compares Farmers Using Dealer Financing And Those With Conventional Lender

USDA, UNIVERSITY STUDY COMPARES FARMERS USING DEALER FINANCING AND THOSE WITH CONVENTIONAL LENDER May 29, 2018 Source: Univ of Illinois news release In a series of recent articles, we show that farmers' use of implement dealer financing has increased substantially since 2003 . Implement dealers currently provide nearly one-third of the agricultural sector's long-term non-real estate debt.

USDA: Older Operators Often Run Small Family Farms And Low-Sales Farms

USDA: OLDER OPERATORS OFTEN RUN SMALL FAMILY FARMS AND LOW-SALES FARMS May 29, 2018 Source: USDA news release A notable characteristic of principal farm operators is their relatively advanced age. In 2016, 36 percent of principal farm operators were at least 65 years old, compared with only 14 percent of self-employed workers in nonagricultural businesses.

Hormel recalls 228,000 pounds of Spam, lunch load

Hormel Food Corp. is recalling approximately 228,614 pounds of canned pork and chicken Spam and luncheon loaf products that may be contaminated with pieces of metal. Affected are "Spam Classic" with a "Best By" February 2021 date and production codes: F020881, F020882, F020883, F020884, F020885, F020886, F020887, F020888 and F020889.

Schools prepare summer servings for hungry kids

Schools have shifted where students can come for a free lunch this summer with the goal of getting more children fed. Franklin and Clark-Pleasant schools have removed summer lunch locations that didn't draw as many children and added new spots that they expect will be more accessible to parents in need of a free meal for their kids.

Zika detection breakthrough by University of Queensland

A cheap and effective tool that could save lives by helping health authorities target mosquitos infected with Zika virus has been developed by researchers from the University of Queensland and colleagues in Brazil. Dr Maggy Sikulu-Lord and Dr Jill Fernandes, at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation , found Near Infrared Spectroscopy was 18-times faster and 110-times cheaper than the current detection method.

USDA: 81% Of Corn, 56% Of Soybeans Planted

USDA: 81% OF CORN, 56% OF SOYBEANS PLANTED May 23, 2018 Farm Futures magazine reports: The 2018 planting season started relatively slowly for corn, but the crop has officially caught up to the five-year average, with 81% of the crop in the ground as of May 20. Spring planting progress for soybeans and spring wheat also made big strides this past week. Some states are even further along than the national average - even some major Midwestern states such as Illinois , Indiana and Iowa .

Missouri bill bans lab-grown meat from being called meat

The meat industry, fearing societal changes toward increased environmental and health awareness, has moved swiftly to try and combat lab-grown and plant-based meat. Both promise a slew of benefits for the environment and human health, but threaten to upend the existing meat industry, spurring efforts on the latter's part to prevent use of the term "meat" in association with these new types of meat products.

Nbaf Update | Officials planning for possible change in federal ownership

There has been some interest in the proposed changes in federal ownership of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility that were included in the President's FY 2019 budget request. The President's request calls for transitioning ownership and responsibility for operating NBAF from the Department of Homeland Security to the U.S. Department of Agriculture .

USDA Unveils Prototypes For GMO Food Labels, And They’re … Confusing

We recently got the first glimpse of what that label might look like, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its proposed guidelines . This is the product of a decades-long fight between anti-GMO campaigners and Big Agriculture companies, which left neither side completely satisfied, as NPR has reported .

Humane Society: Ban retail stores from selling puppies. They’re unfit

Throughout the nation, Americans are taking a stand against cruel puppy mills by supporting efforts to prohibit puppy mill operators from selling dogs in pet stores. Recently, Maryland became the second state in the nation to ban the sale of puppy mill puppies in pet stores when Gov. Larry Hogan signed bipartisan legislation to protect dogs and the state's consumers.