The Department of Agriculture is making a $15 million investment for the Conservation Innovation Grants Classic program. Through the program, grantees work to address water and air issues, along with soil health and wildlife habitat challenges, all while supporting agricultural production. This year’s funding priorities are climate-smart agriculture, addressing invasive species and conservation in urban…… MORE
Congress OKs Dems’ Climate, Health Bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Congress gave final approval Friday to Democrats’ flagship climate and health care bill, handing President Joe Biden a back-from-the-dead triumph on coveted priorities that the party hopes will bolster their prospects for keeping their hold on Congress in November’s elections. The House used a party-line 220-207 vote to pass the…… MORE
Farm Equipment Sales Rise and Fall
U.S. and Canadian ag tractor monthly unit sales in July 2022 fell, while combine sales grew in the U.S., according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. U.S. total farm tractor sales fell 21% for the month of July compared to 2021, while combine sales for the month grew 9.2% to 715…… MORE
Newsom: California Must Boost Water Recycling, Desalination
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California should invest tens of billions of dollars in water recycling, storage and desalination over the next two decades to shore up its supply as the state gets drier and hotter, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a proposal released Thursday. It comes as drought continues to grip the U.S. West and…… MORE
Farmers Markets Growth Slows
USDA’s Economic Research Service data shows the growth in the number of farmers markets is slowing. According to USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, from 1994 to 2019, the number of farmers markets rose from 1,755 to 8,771 in 2019, averaging growth of nearly 7% per year. Expansion began to slow in 2011 before eventually falling below…… MORE
Shrinking Cattle Herd Might Mean Higher Beef Prices
American shoppers struggling with inflation are looking at higher beef prices continuing in their local meat cases. Because of high feed prices and severe drought, ranchers were forced to reduce their cattle herds. Grain prices have dropped to their lowest levels since Russia invaded Ukraine, but Reuters says that might not mean lower food prices…… MORE
Cal Farmland Value Increases
U.S. farmland prices increased 12.4% over the last year, according to new data from the Department of Agriculture. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released the 2022 Land Values Summary earlier this month and shows the U.S. farm real estate value, a measurement of the value of all land and buildings on farms, averaged $3,800 per…… MORE
Olivia Newton-John, Who Played Sandy in ‘Grease,’ Dies at 73
NEW YORK (AP) — Olivia Newton-John, the Grammy-winning superstar who reigned on pop, country, adult contemporary and dance charts with such hits as “Physical” and “You’re the One That I Want” and won countless hearts as everyone’s favorite Sandy in the blockbuster film version of “Grease,” has died. She was 73. Newton-John, a longtime resident…… MORE
Federal Charges Filed Against Ex Sanger Cop
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment that was unsealed Friday charging a former Sanger Police Department officer with deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law for sexually assaulting four women with whom he interacted during the course of his duties. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s…… MORE
Alex Jones Ordered to Pay $49.3M Total Over Sandy Hook Lies
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas jury on Friday ordered Infowars’ Alex Jones to pay $49.3 million in total damages to the parents of a first-grader killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which the conspiracy theorist falsely called a hoax orchestrated by the government in order to tighten U.S. gun laws. The amount is less…… MORE
