A new video features lush pastures, grubby farmers, and happy cows showing off the benefits of pasture-based animal agriculture. Produced by the Real Organic Project, a “a farmer-led movement created to distinguish soil-grown and pasture-raised products under USDA organic,” the video Raising Animals on Pasture highlights the animal welfare, nutritional, and environmental advantages of animals on pasture. […]
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A thoughtful new piece published online by Aeon calls for a reboot of how the nation’s livestock farmers do business. Grassland 2.0 calls for our livestock farmers to also become grass farmers. It is a re-invention of a very old wheel: the idea that animals and pasture can work together as a kind of ecosystem. […]
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Recent market reports suggest that American consumers are beginning to understand that organic milk is healthier for them and the environment. But first, a little background… In 2013 we worked on a paper that reported significantly higher concentrations of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids in organic vs. conventional milk. A follow up study in 2018 revealed […]
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Chuck Benbrook was invited to the Sustainable Ag Expo and International Winegrape Summit in San Luis Obispo November 11-13, 2019. He was asked to bring grape growers in California up-to-date on the Roundup-non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) litigation, possible impacts on the availability of Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides, and critical challenges ahead for Bayer in addressing […]
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The Seattle Times reported this week that oyster growers in southwestern Washington state have given up their years-long quest for permits to spray imidacloprid insecticides on their shellfish farms. This story has been brewing along the coastal mudflats of Gray’s Harbor and Willapa Bay, which are about three hours from Seattle. Shellfish farmers, some of […]
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The next chapter in the ongoing legal battle over Roundup and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) may unfold in a courtroom in Nebraska, according to a September 3, 2019 piece in the Omaha World-Herald. The Honorable Vince Chhabria is overseeing the Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in a Federal court in San Francisco. This MDL encompasses several hundred plaintiffs […]
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DTN Progressive Farmer reports that dicamba-resistant weeds appear to have started to crop up in the Midwest and Midsouth regions. These soy and cotton growing regions have seen a huge increase in dicamba use over the last couple of years since dicamba-resistant varieties of these crops were introduced. An estimated 60 million acres of dicamba […]
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Canadian ag media is reporting that Cargill, one of the largest grain buyers and shippers in the world, will no longer be accepting any lentils that were sprayed with glufosinate herbicides late in the growing season to desiccate, or dry out, the crop. For more on this common practice, see this in-depth article by the […]
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Due to an epidemic of citrus greening disease, which is caused by a bacteria that is carried by an invasive flying insect known as the Asia citrus psyllid (Nordlie, 2019). Also known as huanglongbing, or HLB, the disease is eventually fatal but, with supportive management the trees can still produce for several years. So, bactericides […]
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In a statement released July 31, 2019, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) has recommended that all glyphosate use be phased out due to “the recognised impact on the health and well-being of women and newborn children worldwide.” FIGO is a professional group that advocates for OB/GYN groups around the world. They work with […]
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