Conservation Clips are a weekly collection of articles distributed by NACD that provides our members and partners with the latest news in what’s driving conservation. If you have a relevant submission, please contact your NACD Communications Team.
| Agri-Pulse: White House backs House farm bill By Philip Brasher 05/15/18
The White House has endorsed the House farm bill ahead of a contentious floor debate, saying the legislation would provide certainty to farmers while imposing “common-sense work requirements” on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Corn and Soybean Digest: Wait, there’s profit in conservation practices? By Kurt Lawton 05/11/18 (Opinion) I doubt too many farmers have a budget line item for conservation practices. Farmers have a tough time with the profitability question, as real data is difficult to find and hard to measure when you’re trying to improve such things as soil erosion, soil health, water quality and such. Capital Press: Editorial: Time has come for solving wild horse problem 05/10/18 (Opinion) The BLM has come up with a plan — actually, four plans — for reducing the wild horse population to 26,715, which they figure is a manageable and sustainable number. Agri-Pulse: House panel clears bills to fund USDA, FDA, Corps By Steve Davies 05/16/18 The “Waters of the U.S.” rule promulgated by the Obama Administration would be repealed in one of two spending bills approved by the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday. The committee also approved a spending bill to fund the Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration. The Wall Street Journal: Farmers Across High Plains Brace for Hard Times as Drought Bears Down By Jim Carlton 05/13/18 After three fairly wet years, a drought ranging from “severe” to “exceptional” has descended on the southern Great Plains of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Home to one of the nation’s most fertile farming areas—crop production in the Texas region alone generates about $12 billion in economic activity—observers say the drought could punish the agricultural sector, affecting everything from cotton to cattle to farming-equipment sales. Reuters: Senate aims to finish bipartisan farm bill in June 05/15/18 Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said on Tuesday that the U.S. Senate expects to finish a bipartisan farm bill sometime in June. Austin American-Statesman: Texas Digest: Wildfires rage in Panhandle 05/13/18 Firefighters in the Texas Panhandle are working to contain a wildfire that has blackened more than 69,000 acres. NWI.com: Cover crops now third to only corn and soybeans in Indiana By Joseph S. Peter 05/15/18 Indiana farmers, who recently started putting their spring crops in the ground, planted nearly a million acres of cover crops last year. Cover crops have taken off so much in popularity in Indiana that they’re now the third-most planted crop after corn and soybeans. Napa Valley Register: Gov. Brown orders state to reduce wildfire danger By Peter Fimrite 05/11/18 The executive order will launch a slate of projects to improve forest conditions and increase fire protection, including a doubling of the amount of land managed by controlled burns, tree thinning and other forest-management tactics. Phys.Org: Caterpillar ‘road rage’ could affect migration By Beth Gavrilles 05/10/18 Monarch butterfly caterpillars living next to roads may be stressed by the sound of passing cars and trucks, according to a new study. With roadsides increasingly promoted as sites for pollinator habitat, the findings could have serious implications for monarch butterfly conservation. Wisconsin State Farmer: Do cover crops pay for themselves? By Heidi Johnson 05/14/18 (Opinion) As with other production practices that improve the health and structure of our soil (like no-till), it takes a few years of implementation before you start to see definable economic benefits. And with the current lack of profit margins in all agricultural enterprises, any practice that will cost farmers more money in the short-term is a tough sell. Capital Press: State says wolf recovery plan working, halfway to delisting By Matthew Weaver 05/09/18 Washington Fish and Wildlife officials say the state’s wolf recovery plan is working and halfway to completion. Once population targets are reached, managers can lift protection for the wolves as an endangered species. |