Beginning this year, participants are required to set up a personal account, even if they have participated before. For a PDF of the instructions, click here.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Great Backyard Bird Count is Friday thru Monday
Beginning this year, participants are required to set up a personal account, even if they have participated before. For a PDF of the instructions, click here.
'Sequester' cuts will hit rural health care harder, perhaps closing hospitals, study forecasts
Rural health care providers could especially feel the sting of "the sequester," or automatic federal spending cuts due to hit March 1. According to a study by iVantage Health Analytics, impending cuts could mean closure of rural hospitals and loss of rural health care jobs.
The sequestration is expected to involve a 2 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursement that iVantage predicts will make 63 rural hospitals unprofitable and mean the loss of 482 rural health care jobs nationally, George Lauer reported for California Healthline.
"This is going to have an impact everywhere -- urban, suburban, rural -- but I think it's fair to say rural will feel it more, especially small, remote, providers," Gregory Wolf, iVantage vice president, said. Lauer pointed out for his California readers that the state would not be as "hard-hit" as the Midwest and South.
iVantage presented its research at the yearly Rural Health Policy Institute of the National Rural Health Association this month. Its summary read, "Rural hospitals face major financial challenges given their relatively small operating scale and workforce shortages. Under a proposed 2% Medicare reimbursement reduction resulting from sequestration, these challenges will be exacerbated."
"I do think there is a generally receptive attitude to the things we're saying, but I'm not so sure how that might translate into anything tangible," Kelley Gentry, CEO of the Surprise Valley Health Care District in California, told Lauer. (Read more)
The sequestration is expected to involve a 2 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursement that iVantage predicts will make 63 rural hospitals unprofitable and mean the loss of 482 rural health care jobs nationally, George Lauer reported for California Healthline.
"This is going to have an impact everywhere -- urban, suburban, rural -- but I think it's fair to say rural will feel it more, especially small, remote, providers," Gregory Wolf, iVantage vice president, said. Lauer pointed out for his California readers that the state would not be as "hard-hit" as the Midwest and South.
iVantage presented its research at the yearly Rural Health Policy Institute of the National Rural Health Association this month. Its summary read, "Rural hospitals face major financial challenges given their relatively small operating scale and workforce shortages. Under a proposed 2% Medicare reimbursement reduction resulting from sequestration, these challenges will be exacerbated."
"I do think there is a generally receptive attitude to the things we're saying, but I'm not so sure how that might translate into anything tangible," Kelley Gentry, CEO of the Surprise Valley Health Care District in California, told Lauer. (Read more)
Uncertainty about make-up of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing continues, despite state laws
Many hydraulic fracturing companies in Texas have not revealed the make-up of the chemicals they use to blast into the earth and release hydrocarbons. Texas was the first state to require frackers to disclose their chemicals, but it allows companies to exempt "company secrets" and that's "a loophole big enough you can drive a frack truck through," Luke Metzger, the director of Environment Texas, told Jennifer Hiller reports for the San Antonio Express-News. Fracking companies argue that they deserve the right to protect chemical mixtures they spent lots of money perfecting, while environmentalists say citizens deserve to know what is being used.
"Of 12,410 instances of hydraulic fracturing in Texas between April 2011 and early December 2012, companies used terms such as 'proprietary,' 'secret' or 'confidential' 10,120 times while reporting data on the FracFocus.org website," Hiller reports, summarizing data collected by the Pivot Upstsream Group. FracFocus is a website where companies can "voluntarily report the composition of hydraulic fracturing fluids," Hiller said.
Hiller used the example of Eagle Ford Shale, a South Texas field that used the trade exemption in 2,297 of its 3,100 fracturing events. Some local residents are concerned that the exemption is letting companies get by with using chemicals they shouldn't.
"I've heard they've used everything from formaldehyde to instant coffee. Who knows? Nobody knows for sure," Bill Sibley, a Texas rancher, told Hiller. Sibley told Hiller he was happy to have the oil and gas activity on his land, but was worried about chemicals contaminating his water. Landowners and those who live next to lands where fracturing, as well as state regulators, are allowed to challenge trade secret exemptions, Hiller said.
According to FracFocus, many companies use hydrochloric acid, petroleum distillates and ethanol. Industry personnel say the details of the chemicals used are kept secret because of competition.
"You can say 99 percent of the fluid is the same," David Blackmon, a managing director of FTI Consulting and a spokesperson for Energy in Depth, an industry website, told Hiller. "When it comes to the content of chemicals there's a great deal of competition." The 99 percent of the fluid that all companies share is water, Blackmon said, meaning that the undisclosed 1 percent is chemical.
"They've made incredible progress in developing fluids that reduce the overall water use, that allow us to use an ever increasing percentage of briny water rather than fresh water, and to reduce the number of chemicals used in frack jobs, and to use common everyday stuff that you use in your kitchen or bathroom to replace more potent chemicals," Blackmon said.
Lance Robertson, vice president of Eagle ford production operations for Marathon Oil Corp., echoed Blackmon's sentiment at a recent forum, saying "There are more dangerous things under my sink than we pump."
Texas lawmakers are considering a measure that would require companies to let residents within 500 feet of a well know the chemical make-up of what they plan to use for drilling at least 30 days before they begin, Hiller reports. The state requires public disclosure within 30 days after the well is completed or 90 days after drilling is completed, depending on which is earlier. (Read More)
"Of 12,410 instances of hydraulic fracturing in Texas between April 2011 and early December 2012, companies used terms such as 'proprietary,' 'secret' or 'confidential' 10,120 times while reporting data on the FracFocus.org website," Hiller reports, summarizing data collected by the Pivot Upstsream Group. FracFocus is a website where companies can "voluntarily report the composition of hydraulic fracturing fluids," Hiller said.
Hiller used the example of Eagle Ford Shale, a South Texas field that used the trade exemption in 2,297 of its 3,100 fracturing events. Some local residents are concerned that the exemption is letting companies get by with using chemicals they shouldn't.
"I've heard they've used everything from formaldehyde to instant coffee. Who knows? Nobody knows for sure," Bill Sibley, a Texas rancher, told Hiller. Sibley told Hiller he was happy to have the oil and gas activity on his land, but was worried about chemicals contaminating his water. Landowners and those who live next to lands where fracturing, as well as state regulators, are allowed to challenge trade secret exemptions, Hiller said.
According to FracFocus, many companies use hydrochloric acid, petroleum distillates and ethanol. Industry personnel say the details of the chemicals used are kept secret because of competition.
"You can say 99 percent of the fluid is the same," David Blackmon, a managing director of FTI Consulting and a spokesperson for Energy in Depth, an industry website, told Hiller. "When it comes to the content of chemicals there's a great deal of competition." The 99 percent of the fluid that all companies share is water, Blackmon said, meaning that the undisclosed 1 percent is chemical.
"They've made incredible progress in developing fluids that reduce the overall water use, that allow us to use an ever increasing percentage of briny water rather than fresh water, and to reduce the number of chemicals used in frack jobs, and to use common everyday stuff that you use in your kitchen or bathroom to replace more potent chemicals," Blackmon said.
Lance Robertson, vice president of Eagle ford production operations for Marathon Oil Corp., echoed Blackmon's sentiment at a recent forum, saying "There are more dangerous things under my sink than we pump."
Texas lawmakers are considering a measure that would require companies to let residents within 500 feet of a well know the chemical make-up of what they plan to use for drilling at least 30 days before they begin, Hiller reports. The state requires public disclosure within 30 days after the well is completed or 90 days after drilling is completed, depending on which is earlier. (Read More)
S.D. considers incentives to make lawyers go rural
South Dakota seems to have enough lawyers; they just aren't practicing in the right places. That's the thinking behind recent legislation that would offer financial incentives for lawyers to practice in rural counties that currently rely on out-of-town lawyers. South Dakota's rural lawyer shortage reflects some of the wider problems of rural depopulation and the increasing urban concentration of professionals.
Senate Bill 218 aims to start a four-year pilot program that would reimburse tuition for law students who work in rural South Dakota areas for five years after graduation, or would financially reward attorneys who move to rural areas, Andrea Cook reports for the Rapid City Journal. The state and beneficiary counties would share the cost, with counties paying 35 percent, Cook said.
"We have enough attorneys in this state, but they're all condensed into basically four counties," South Dakota Supreme Court Justice David Gilbertson, a supporter of the bill, told Cook. She reported that 65 percent of the lawyers in South Dakota live in the state capital of Pierre, Rapid City, Aberdeen or Sioux Falls. On the other end of the scale, the Sixth Judicial Circuit in the middle of the state has keenly felt the lawyer shortage, with about half of its 14 counties in the circuit having fewer than four lawyers, Cook reports.
"When someone facing criminal charges qualifies for court-appointed representation, judges often have to look far away to make defense attorney appointments," Cook said, explaining that the bill for each out-of-town court appointed lawyer translates to $1 per mile traveled and $88 per hour with clients. In addition to the expense, he siad, relying on distant lawyers also means long court days and difficulties in scheduling.
Complicated cases that need more than one attorney can quickly turn into a logistical nightmare:
"It's really tough where you have an abuse and neglect case where you got maybe one mom and a couple dads and you need an attorney for the kids," Fourth Judicial Circuit Judge Warren Johnson, told Cook.
Gay Tollefson, a state attorney in rural Haakon County who worries about leaving her clients without a lawyer when she retires, told Cook young replacement attorneys might be intimidated by starting in a small town and might have trouble finding work for their spouses: "You're taking a big chance and I think that scares people." (Read more)
Senate Bill 218 aims to start a four-year pilot program that would reimburse tuition for law students who work in rural South Dakota areas for five years after graduation, or would financially reward attorneys who move to rural areas, Andrea Cook reports for the Rapid City Journal. The state and beneficiary counties would share the cost, with counties paying 35 percent, Cook said.
"We have enough attorneys in this state, but they're all condensed into basically four counties," South Dakota Supreme Court Justice David Gilbertson, a supporter of the bill, told Cook. She reported that 65 percent of the lawyers in South Dakota live in the state capital of Pierre, Rapid City, Aberdeen or Sioux Falls. On the other end of the scale, the Sixth Judicial Circuit in the middle of the state has keenly felt the lawyer shortage, with about half of its 14 counties in the circuit having fewer than four lawyers, Cook reports.
"When someone facing criminal charges qualifies for court-appointed representation, judges often have to look far away to make defense attorney appointments," Cook said, explaining that the bill for each out-of-town court appointed lawyer translates to $1 per mile traveled and $88 per hour with clients. In addition to the expense, he siad, relying on distant lawyers also means long court days and difficulties in scheduling.
Complicated cases that need more than one attorney can quickly turn into a logistical nightmare:
"It's really tough where you have an abuse and neglect case where you got maybe one mom and a couple dads and you need an attorney for the kids," Fourth Judicial Circuit Judge Warren Johnson, told Cook.
Gay Tollefson, a state attorney in rural Haakon County who worries about leaving her clients without a lawyer when she retires, told Cook young replacement attorneys might be intimidated by starting in a small town and might have trouble finding work for their spouses: "You're taking a big chance and I think that scares people." (Read more)
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Telephone deregulation bills spark concern about reliability of rural communications in several states
Twenty states that have deregulated land-line service. Sherry Lichtenberg, telecommunications research and policy principal at the National Regulatory Research Institute, told The Rural Blog that deregulation legislation is also pending in eight states: Nevada, Kansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Indiana, Kentucky, New York and Rhode Island. She said a bill further deregulating telecommunications in Ohio failed last session, and bills in New Jersey and Connecticut were withdrawn.
Many of those resisting the change have expressed concern for rural customers; this trend held true in the most recent state to move forward with deregulation. On Monday, Kentucky's deregulation bill passed a committee in the Republican-controlled Senate, and is being supported with a radio advertising campaign, but "The bill faces an uphill battle in the Democratic-controlled House," reports Jack Brammer of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
"The primary concern voiced by opponents Monday was that the changes would leave rural Kentuckians, particularly seniors, without reliable phone service," Don Weber reported for cable-TV news service cn|2. Opponents said cell coverage in rural areas can be unreliable, and that the 80 percent of seniors who still use a land-line could be adversely affected.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, said his rural constituents' main telecommunications concern is lack of high-speed Internet service, and deregulation would allow telecom companies to invest more in broadband. He said the bill would ban ending landline service in rural areas with fewer than 5,000 landlines unless another company can offer a similar service.
Brammer reports, "Tom FitzGerald, director of the Kentucky Resources Council, said the bill would allow carriers to stop serving areas where wireless services are available, which is not the same as a land line. Many parts of rural Kentucky have wireless service that is unreliable, he said." FitzGerald told the committee, "Even AT&T's own website says that it is not comparable to a land-line service." In an op-ed piece for The Courier-Journal he gave more details about the legalities of the measure.
Great Lakes shore economies dry up with low water
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| Traverse City (Mark Breederlan, Michigan Sea Grant) |
Elizabeth Brackett of WTTW in Chicago reported for PBS NewsHour that a drop of more than two feet from the average level is "threatening to close the harbor" in Leland, a town that relies heavily on a good tourist summer season to get it through the rest of the year. In Suttons Bay, concrete blocks designed to anchor boats "now sit in just inches of water," Brackett reported, walking along a beach that didn't used to exist.
In an interview with Brackett, Andrew Gronewold of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory cited high water temperatures and increased evaporation for the low water levels. "Now, what is causing the lakes to warm so much? That is something that is going to require some additional research," Gronewold said.
Dredging can keep harbors open, but suffering economies aren't able to keep up with the demand for such maintenance. "You got almost a perfect storm hitting the Great Lakes harbors," Chuck May, chair of the Great Lakes Small Harbors Coalition, told Brackett. "You've got low water and you've got lack of maintenance, lack of dredging, lack of infrastructure."
The shrinking water levels are also hurting commercial harbors, where low levels affect how much tonnage ships can ship. "For every inch the water level drops, carriers forfeit 8,000 tons of cargo," Brackett reported. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the Obama administration has new regulations that mandate that commercial harbors have to be able to handle a million tons to get federal money for dredging. Of the 139 commercial and recreational harbors on the Great Lakes, only 15 now meet this criteria, Brackett reported.
Some area residents say the harbor taxes they pay should go to dredging. "The federal government actually owns these harbors, these channels," May said. "And they actually have a tax called a harbor maintenance tax that they put in place the beginning of 1985 to take care of these harbors. So far, in the past 15 years, they have collected $8 billion dollars that they have not spent on harbors."
Some local residents have given money to help pay for dredging, but the need might outrun their finances, Brackett reported. Scientists have predicted the water levels will keep dropping this winter. (Read more)
How many rural shows are in the most watched 100 TV broadcasts? Take a guess
The Agricultural Communications Documentation Center on the main campus of the University of Illinois wants to know how many TV broadcasts featuring rural settings, people, or activities people expect to see on the Top 100 list. The survey was prompted by television historian Wesley Hyatt's 2011 book Television's Top 100: The Most-Watched American Broadcasts, 1960-2010.
Hyatt's book outlines the date, rating, share, competition, cast and synopsis of 100 top broadcasts that range from sporting events to movies -- and some have rural themes.
The ACDC News survey asks:
1. What share (percent) of those most-watched broadcasts would you expect to feature rural settings, people, or activities?
2. What specific television programs with rural flavor would you expect to find in that Top 100 list?
Answers go to docctr@library.illinois.edu. Results and winners will be announced in the next issue monthly issue of ACDC News.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Ky. legislative panel advances bill to allow, regulate industrial hemp crops if feds grant state a waiver
By Al Cross
Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues
After hearing endorsements from former CIA director James Woolsey and a bipartisan slice of Kentucky's congressional delegation, a state Senate committee today approved without dissent a bill to allow and regulate commercial hemp crops if the federal government gives the state a waiver from marijuana laws.
Eight other states have similar legislation, but some of them allow only experimental crops. Pro-hemp bills are pending in two of those states and five others, including Kentucky, Arian Campo-Flores reported Friday for The Wall Street Journal. (WSJ map; click on image for larger version)
The Kentucky bill's advocates hope to make the state a test bed for the return to the U.S. of commercial hemp, which Woolsey said is legal in 35 industrialized Western nations, including Canada. "We cannot find one that has had a problem distinguishing industrial hemp from marijuana," Woolsey told the Senate Agriculture Committee. He said he is a member of the North American Industrial Hemp Council "basically because of my interest in prosperity for rural America."
The bill, pushed by Republican state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, still faces obstacles, especially in the Democratic-controlled House, and the Drug Enforcement Administration has refused to give waivers for hemp production.
However, "The government interest in worrying about marijuana issues is subsiding some," said U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville, who will ask the Obama administration for a waiver. Alluding to recent pro-marijuana legislation in some states, Yarmuth said at a press conference, "The overall climate of the country will make it much more easy for DEA to relax its policy on granting waivers."
Joining Yarmuth in endorsing Senate Bill 50 were Republican U.S. Sen Rand Paul, wearing a hemp shirt, and Rep. Thomas Massie of the Fourth District. They have each filed bills, with Oregon co-sponsors, to exclude from federal marijuana law any part of the hemp plant with 0.3 percent or less tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant's psychoactive ingredient. For the House bill, click here.
State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer (in first row of audience in photo) continued his firm opposition to SB 50, saying his main concern was that marijuana could be hidden in hemp crops.
Woolsey said pot growers would "have to be stupid or very high to take that route," because they could not prevent male plants from pollinating females, which stop producing THC-rich flower buds when pollinated. "The marijuana growers are about the last people who want industrial hemp," he said, because the fine pollen can travel far and even fertilize indoor crops. He also said hemp is harvested before marijuana.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said Woolsey brought "a great deal of credibility" to the hearing because he had been "at the apex of deciding what is good and bad information" at the CIA.
Brewer also said parts of the hemp plant left not used in processing could be processed into a THC-rich oil, and Kentucky hemp could be used to cut high-THC marijuana from the West Coast. He said the state needs a pilot project to get beyond anecdotal evidence, not immediate commercialization. House Speaker Greg Stumbo has called for a study. Committee Chairman Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, the bill's sponsor, said that would be a waste of money.
At least two senators who were not expected to vote for the bill did so: newly elected Republicans Sara Beth Gregory of Monticello and Whitney Westerfield of Hopkinsville. "We have the potential to create jobs in rural Kentucky, especially," Gregory said in explaining her vote.
Westerfield, a former prosecutor who unseated a leading hemp supporter in the November election, said he "went all last year" thinking there was no difference in hemp and marijuana, then received conflicting information on both sides. He said he is still not certain, but thinks the state should try to take advantage of the opportunity "as long as we proceed with caution."
At a Capitol rotunda rally of hemp supporters after the meeting, Garrard County Attorney Mark Metcalf said he supports the bill because "It will bring industry that adds value to the crop."
State Rep. David Monson of North Dakota, a leading hemp advocate, told the committee that hemp is so bulky that its transportation costs are high, requiring processing plants to be relatively close to the fields. He and Gail Glenn, a farmer, said hemp is also a good rotation crop that fights pests and requires no herbicides or pesticides.
Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues
After hearing endorsements from former CIA director James Woolsey and a bipartisan slice of Kentucky's congressional delegation, a state Senate committee today approved without dissent a bill to allow and regulate commercial hemp crops if the federal government gives the state a waiver from marijuana laws.
Eight other states have similar legislation, but some of them allow only experimental crops. Pro-hemp bills are pending in two of those states and five others, including Kentucky, Arian Campo-Flores reported Friday for The Wall Street Journal. (WSJ map; click on image for larger version)
The bill, pushed by Republican state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, still faces obstacles, especially in the Democratic-controlled House, and the Drug Enforcement Administration has refused to give waivers for hemp production.
However, "The government interest in worrying about marijuana issues is subsiding some," said U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville, who will ask the Obama administration for a waiver. Alluding to recent pro-marijuana legislation in some states, Yarmuth said at a press conference, "The overall climate of the country will make it much more easy for DEA to relax its policy on granting waivers."
Joining Yarmuth in endorsing Senate Bill 50 were Republican U.S. Sen Rand Paul, wearing a hemp shirt, and Rep. Thomas Massie of the Fourth District. They have each filed bills, with Oregon co-sponsors, to exclude from federal marijuana law any part of the hemp plant with 0.3 percent or less tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant's psychoactive ingredient. For the House bill, click here.
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| From left: Massie, Brewer, Comer, Yarmuth, Paul (Ky. Dept. of Agriculture photo) |
Woolsey said pot growers would "have to be stupid or very high to take that route," because they could not prevent male plants from pollinating females, which stop producing THC-rich flower buds when pollinated. "The marijuana growers are about the last people who want industrial hemp," he said, because the fine pollen can travel far and even fertilize indoor crops. He also said hemp is harvested before marijuana.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said Woolsey brought "a great deal of credibility" to the hearing because he had been "at the apex of deciding what is good and bad information" at the CIA.
Brewer also said parts of the hemp plant left not used in processing could be processed into a THC-rich oil, and Kentucky hemp could be used to cut high-THC marijuana from the West Coast. He said the state needs a pilot project to get beyond anecdotal evidence, not immediate commercialization. House Speaker Greg Stumbo has called for a study. Committee Chairman Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, the bill's sponsor, said that would be a waste of money.
At least two senators who were not expected to vote for the bill did so: newly elected Republicans Sara Beth Gregory of Monticello and Whitney Westerfield of Hopkinsville. "We have the potential to create jobs in rural Kentucky, especially," Gregory said in explaining her vote.
Westerfield, a former prosecutor who unseated a leading hemp supporter in the November election, said he "went all last year" thinking there was no difference in hemp and marijuana, then received conflicting information on both sides. He said he is still not certain, but thinks the state should try to take advantage of the opportunity "as long as we proceed with caution."
At a Capitol rotunda rally of hemp supporters after the meeting, Garrard County Attorney Mark Metcalf said he supports the bill because "It will bring industry that adds value to the crop."
State Rep. David Monson of North Dakota, a leading hemp advocate, told the committee that hemp is so bulky that its transportation costs are high, requiring processing plants to be relatively close to the fields. He and Gail Glenn, a farmer, said hemp is also a good rotation crop that fights pests and requires no herbicides or pesticides.
Supreme Court to mull control of patented seeds
The case of an Indiana farmer who planted the genetically altered soybeans he got from a local grain elevator has reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Hugh Bowman's dispute with agricultural giant Monsanto has evolved into a larger debate of the influence big agribusinesses have on farmers.
Monsanto, the producer of the powerful herbicide Roundup and the genetically altered crops that resist the herbicide, says that Bowman's decision to plant the seeds he got from the grain elevator, seeds that farmers are expected to use for feed, was a violation of their planting agreement with farmers. "His legal battle, now at the Supreme Court, raises questions about whether the right to patent living things extends to their progeny, and how companies that engage in cutting-edge research can recoup their investments," Robert Barnes reports for The Washington Post.
Monsanto, the producer of the powerful herbicide Roundup and the genetically altered crops that resist the herbicide, says that Bowman's decision to plant the seeds he got from the grain elevator, seeds that farmers are expected to use for feed, was a violation of their planting agreement with farmers. "His legal battle, now at the Supreme Court, raises questions about whether the right to patent living things extends to their progeny, and how companies that engage in cutting-edge research can recoup their investments," Robert Barnes reports for The Washington Post.
More than 90 percent of U.S. farmers use genetically altered soybean seeds from Monsanto or from companies licensed by Monsanto, Barnes writes. The beans farmers grow from these seeds have the same Roundup Ready traits that the original seeds did, but Monsanto has farmers sign an agreement that they will not use the beans for a second planting. Farmers also aren't allowed to sell the beans to others for planting, but they can sell them for feed to grain elevators like the one where Bowman got the beans in question, Barnes said.
Bowman, now 75, bought Roundup Ready seeds from 1999 to 2007 for initial plantings, but used seeds from the local grain elevator for second plantings, which are usually less profitable, making Monsanto's seeds less economical. Monsanto sued Bowman and was awarded nearly $85,000, Barnes said.
“Monsanto should not be able, just because they’ve got millions and millions of dollars to spend on legal fees, to try to terrify farmers into making them obey their agreements by massive force and threats,” Bowman told Barnes. Monsanto has countered that its "notoriously high research and development costs" to produce living products like the Roundup Ready seeds merit legal protection for its seeds and their progeny. "Inventors are unlikely to make such investments if they cannot prevent purchasers of living organisms containing their invention from using them to produce unlimited copies," Monsanto said in its court brief.
Monsanto has raised fears about what the end of a streak of legal victories for the company might do to the biotechnology industry, and many experts have argued in its favor, Barnes reported. Patents and patent protections lie at the heart of innovations like the ones that made Roundup Ready seeds available for farmers, some say.
Others say Bowman's actions represent the much larger issue of the domination of agriculture by a few businesses. Bowman maintains that his actions did not threaten Monsanto. “I see no threat in what I’ve done,” he told Barnes. “If there was, there’d surely be a hell of a lot of other farmers doing it. . . . As far as I know, I’m the only damn dumb farmer around” who has tried. (Read more)
Dodge Ram truck ad during Super Bowl, honoring farmers, continues to spark reactions
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| One of the photos from the ad (Daily Yonder) |
Radio commentator Harvey made the speech in 1978 to the Future Farmers of America convention. "The job description he laid out should have been enough to send them all running: Hundred-hour workweeks; make-do lifestyle; the kind of humble, hardscrabble simplicity that sounds a lot more noble in novels and speeches than it feels in real life," wrote Jennifer Hemmingsen, a columnist for The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who was 5 years old in 1978.
Hemmingsen recalled how Harvey's words described the farming world her grandparents held dear and was an important part of her childhood, even as it was slipping away with small farms being replaced by larger ones. "We Iowans all have our own versions of this story, " she wrote. "Still we thrilled to the still photos of Dodge's Super Bowl ad last week; felt our hearts hum to the purposeful tune of Harvey's words. We couldn't help it. It spoke to deep-held beliefs about who we are."
Despite her approval of the ad, Henningsen noted, "Today's small farmers need more than sainthood -- they need a chance at preserving their livelihood. A chance at passing on more than a set of romantic notions for future generations."
Longtime "Food and Farm" columnist Alan Guebert had a much less favorable reaction in his new "View from the Levee" column in the online Daily Yonder.
"Yes, it was a heaping helping of raw American myth, but myth sells," Guebert summarized. He said a Progressive Farmer online article on Super Bowl Sunday, describing a 50-square-mile family farming operation in Kansas, was a much more accurate depiction of modern American farming than the small-farm lifestyle lauded in the ad.
Guebert also questioned Harvey's suitability as the voice of the American farmer, noting that Harvey was a supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and "No real cowboy, pick-up truck or not, can stand PETA."
'Sequester' budget cuts, inspector furloughs could mean temporary shutdown of meatpackers
Approaching spending cuts may shut down the meat industry for two weeks. The cuts, collectively called "the sequester," would take place March 1 unless Congress heads them off. Two-week furloughs for U.S. meat and poultry inspectors are slated to be a part of the cuts. Since federal law prohibits shipping meat without a U.S. Department of Agriculture seal of approval, the furloughs would effectively shut down the industry for two weeks, Charles Abbott reported for Reuters.
Janet Hook of The Wall Street Journal predicted the sequester will come: "Despite warnings about the threat to military readiness, education programs and activities across the government, both parties say that it is likely the deadline will pass without a compromise being reached and that the spending cuts will take affect at least temporarily."
One USDA official estimated the resulting production losses for the industry at $10 billion, Abbot reported. Employee pay for 8,400 inspectors accounts for most of the $1 billion USDA spends on meat safety yearly.
The American Meat Institute said USDA should keep inspectors working so plants can stay open and furlough other employees, as well as cut non-vital programs rather than "inflicting unnecessary hardship" on the industry, Abbott reports.
Others said there isn't much choice but to go forward with the furloughs: "There's not much we can do when Congress says to cut every line item by a certain percent," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a speech.
Legislation introduced by House Democrats would avoid the cuts by eliminating tax breaks, cutting farm subsidies and and taxing millionaires; House Republicans want to replace defense cuts with "deeper" cuts to domestic programs, Hook writes.
Janet Hook of The Wall Street Journal predicted the sequester will come: "Despite warnings about the threat to military readiness, education programs and activities across the government, both parties say that it is likely the deadline will pass without a compromise being reached and that the spending cuts will take affect at least temporarily."
One USDA official estimated the resulting production losses for the industry at $10 billion, Abbot reported. Employee pay for 8,400 inspectors accounts for most of the $1 billion USDA spends on meat safety yearly.
The American Meat Institute said USDA should keep inspectors working so plants can stay open and furlough other employees, as well as cut non-vital programs rather than "inflicting unnecessary hardship" on the industry, Abbott reports.
Others said there isn't much choice but to go forward with the furloughs: "There's not much we can do when Congress says to cut every line item by a certain percent," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a speech.
Legislation introduced by House Democrats would avoid the cuts by eliminating tax breaks, cutting farm subsidies and and taxing millionaires; House Republicans want to replace defense cuts with "deeper" cuts to domestic programs, Hook writes.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
They still raise tobacco, don't they? Yes, and in the Black Patch, it's mostly a family thing
Tobacco farming has changed considerably since federal quotas and price supports ended in 2004, but for the relative few who still raise the crop, the job remains much like it has been for a century or more -- especially in the Black Patch of southwestern Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee, where generations of families have raised dark fired tobacco, used mainly in snuff and chewing tobacco.
"Sharing the complexities of the craft with those who are unfamiliar is not an easy task," but a documentary premiering Monday night on Kentucky Educational Television "intends to do just that," Bobbie Bryant writes for The Courier-Journal of Louisville. The film, "Farming in the Black Patch," follows members of her family. It airs at 9 p.m. EST and will be available on www.ket.org.
"Sharing the complexities of the craft with those who are unfamiliar is not an easy task," but a documentary premiering Monday night on Kentucky Educational Television "intends to do just that," Bobbie Bryant writes for The Courier-Journal of Louisville. The film, "Farming in the Black Patch," follows members of her family. It airs at 9 p.m. EST and will be available on www.ket.org.
Friday, February 08, 2013
FCC tackling problems in rural long-distance calls
The Federal Communications Commission says it wants to do something about telephone companies' failure to
complete long-distance calls in rural areas. In a notice seeking comment on its proposed rulemaking, the FCC said rural
long-distance callers get false busy
signals, can't hear each other or simply have long periods of "dead air."
"This causes rural businesses to lose customers, cuts families off from
their relatives in rural areas, and creates potential for dangerous
delays in public safety communications in rural areas," the commission said. The proposed rulemaking is open for comment until March 9.
UPDATE, Feb. 9: The chair of the Oregon Public Utility Commission writes in the Statesman Journal of Salem, "Many rural Oregon landline telephone customers no longer take the ability to make and receive telephone calls for granted. . . . These problems are generally caused by the route a rural call takes when transported by the network of either the caller’s long distance company or wireless telephone company." (Read more)
UPDATE, Feb. 9: The chair of the Oregon Public Utility Commission writes in the Statesman Journal of Salem, "Many rural Oregon landline telephone customers no longer take the ability to make and receive telephone calls for granted. . . . These problems are generally caused by the route a rural call takes when transported by the network of either the caller’s long distance company or wireless telephone company." (Read more)
Direct payments, other farm subsidies could be targets in bill to head off broader budget cuts
Cuts in farm subsidies could be part of a stopgap deal to head off a set of huge budget cuts known as "the sequester" and scheduled for March 1, David Rogers reports for Politico. President Obama has asked Congress for a three-month delay.
"Senate Democrats said Thursday they want to go longer, but each added month means coming up with about $12 billion in new revenues or savings to achieve the same level of deficit reduction," Rogers reports. "Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) confirmed that the prime target for spending cuts is an outdated system of direct cash payments to producers that still costs taxpayers close to $5 billion a year and has long been a target for reformers."
Stabenow told Rogers, “I would prefer obviously to do it in the context of the Farm Bill, but I cannot defend direct payments.” She said if those other cuts were made in a sequester-stalling bill, that would count as "agriculture's contribution to deficit reduction" as it drafts a new Farm Bill.
"Given high farm incomes," Rogers writes, "the large subsidies become harder and harder to defend. And both the House and Senate farm bills last year proposed to do away with the payments and plow a portion of the savings back into more modern safety-net programs and expanded crop insurance." (Read more)
"Senate Democrats said Thursday they want to go longer, but each added month means coming up with about $12 billion in new revenues or savings to achieve the same level of deficit reduction," Rogers reports. "Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) confirmed that the prime target for spending cuts is an outdated system of direct cash payments to producers that still costs taxpayers close to $5 billion a year and has long been a target for reformers."
Stabenow told Rogers, “I would prefer obviously to do it in the context of the Farm Bill, but I cannot defend direct payments.” She said if those other cuts were made in a sequester-stalling bill, that would count as "agriculture's contribution to deficit reduction" as it drafts a new Farm Bill.
"Given high farm incomes," Rogers writes, "the large subsidies become harder and harder to defend. And both the House and Senate farm bills last year proposed to do away with the payments and plow a portion of the savings back into more modern safety-net programs and expanded crop insurance." (Read more)
Reid blasts USPS's early move for 5-day delivery; rural officials complain to their congressman
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| Reid (Photo: Andrew Harrer, Bloomberg) |
“The postmaster general’s actions have damaged his reputation with congressional leaders and further complicates congressional efforts to pass comprehensive postal reform legislation in the future,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada. “Given the importance of the post office to communities in Nevada and across our nation, such a drastic policy change cannot be enacted without approval from Congress. Instead, the postmaster general relied on flawed legal guidance to claim that he can circumvent Congress’ s authority on the matter.”
"With all of the help the U.S. Postal Service requires to close a $20 billion gap, Donahoe doesn’t need to anger Reid," Joe Davidson of The Washington Post writes in his Federal Diary column. "Donahoe’s surprise move, announced Wednesday, to shore up Postal Service finances by cutting Saturday mail delivery was bold, aggressive, perhaps even audacious. Those can be admirable characteristics in an executive when his actions work. If they don’t work, those same actions look foolish, panicky and self-defeating. Time will tell whether Donahoe gets away with his end run around Congress, but it is already apparent that he has alienated some forces whose help he desperately can use."
Some in Congress said the postmaster general did the right thing, but Davidson writes, "Donahoe may have gotten tired of waiting for Congress to act. He has begged and begged for relief, while Congress has argued with itself and slow-danced to the funeral music that seems to surround the Postal Service. . . . He clearly underestimated the congressional instinct to protect its turf." (Read more)
But John Tierney writes on Salon that Congress needed a wake-up call: "You know that feeling of pleasure you get when you see someone stand up to a bullying, incompetent boss? It’s viscerally satisfying, isn’t it? That’s the way I felt this morning when I heard" Donahue's announcement. "Our elected representatives have steered the agency into a ditch." (Read more)
Congress is hearing grass-roots opposition to the move. In Fort Edward, N.Y., yesterday, Washington County supervisors complained to Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, that the change "could be a major problem, especially on holiday weekends when delivery could be down for three or four days," reports Mark Mulholland of WNYT-TV in Albany. Hebron Town Supervisor Brian Campbell said, "Here we are in the rural area and they say now we're going to cut your postal service but we're still yet to get cell service and we're still yet to get the good Internet service." (Read more)
Emu oil puts the big birds back in play as livestock
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| A mob of Montana emus (NYT photo by Tony Demin) |
"Processed and rubbed into a person’s skin, the oil is hailed as a treatment for wrinkles, burns, acne, arthritis, psoriasis and eczema, among other things," Jim Robbins writes for The New York Times from Hamilton, Mont. "It is used in shampoo and cosmetics. Taken orally, it is used to treat cholesterol, symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and allergies. A single bird produces 250 ounces of oil, and the Quinns sell it for $10 an ounce, subtracting the refining costs."
“It’s been an enormous factor” in profitability, Clover Quinn, operator of the Wild Rose Emu Ranch, told Robbins. He reports, "The leading emu oil processor, LB Processors, has seen production grow in the last few years to 7,000 gallons a year from 3,000 gallons." (Read more)
Thursday, February 07, 2013
Farms and forests will suffer generally from climate change, USDA says in new reports
Climate change will have a generally detrimental effect on American farms and forests, especially after 2050, the Department of Agriculture said in two reports this week.
"Over the next 25 years, the effects of climate change on agricultural production and economic outcomes for both producers and consumers in the United States are expected to be mixed, depending on regional conditions," USDA said in a press release. "Beyond 2050, changes are expected to include shifts in crop production areas, increases in pest control expenses, and greater disease prevalence." To download a 193-page PDF of the report, click here.
Climate change will make farmers "alter where they grow crops and costing them millions of dollars in additional costs to tackle weeds, pests and diseases that threaten their operations," Christopher Doering reports from Washington for USA Today and other Gannett Co. newspapers. Jerry Hatfield, lead author of the study, told Doering, "We're going to end up in a situation where we have a multitude of things happening that are going to negatively impact crop production. In fact, we saw this in 2012 with the drought." (Read more)
Forests will face increased threats from fire, insects, invasive species, "and combinations of
multiple stressors," the release said. "Wildfire is expected to increase throughout the United States, causing at least a doubling of area burned" by 2050. For a PDF of the 282-page USDA report on forests and climate change, go here.
"Over the next 25 years, the effects of climate change on agricultural production and economic outcomes for both producers and consumers in the United States are expected to be mixed, depending on regional conditions," USDA said in a press release. "Beyond 2050, changes are expected to include shifts in crop production areas, increases in pest control expenses, and greater disease prevalence." To download a 193-page PDF of the report, click here.
Climate change will make farmers "alter where they grow crops and costing them millions of dollars in additional costs to tackle weeds, pests and diseases that threaten their operations," Christopher Doering reports from Washington for USA Today and other Gannett Co. newspapers. Jerry Hatfield, lead author of the study, told Doering, "We're going to end up in a situation where we have a multitude of things happening that are going to negatively impact crop production. In fact, we saw this in 2012 with the drought." (Read more)
Forests will face increased threats from fire, insects, invasive species, "and combinations of
multiple stressors," the release said. "Wildfire is expected to increase throughout the United States, causing at least a doubling of area burned" by 2050. For a PDF of the 282-page USDA report on forests and climate change, go here.
EPA adds oil and gas production to greenhouse list; ranks a distant second to power plants
For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency included oil and natural gas production as stationary sources of greenhouse gas emissions in its annual report on the subject, and said it ranked second, behind power plants, which emitted about 10 times as much, Mark Drajem reported for Bloomberg Businessweek. However, EPA looked only at major oil and gas production areas.
The second annual report said the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by power plants decreased 4.5 percent from 2010 to 2011 because plants used more gas, and that more solar and wind energy is being used. "This report confirms that major carbon reduction from power plants wouldn't be possible without a reliable and affordable supply of domestically produced natural gas," Simon Lomax, research director at Energy in Depth, a group launched by the Independent Petroleum Association of America, told Bloomberg.
Methane, the greenhouse gas that is emitted during drilling, hydraulic fracturing and transportation of oil and gas, remains in the atmosphere for less time than carbon dioxide, but is "more efficient at trapping radiation, making its short-term impact 20 times greater than carbon dioxide," Drajem notes.
The EPA has proposed regulations for coal-powered plants, and may extend them to existing plants, but it is unclear if it has similar plans for the oil and gas industry. Environmental groups want the EPA to establish standards to prevent methane leakages the activities associated with oil and gas production, Drajem notes. "Reducing fugitive methane emissions is a top priority because they are so powerful," Mark Brownstein, managing director of the Environmental Defense Fund, told Bloomberg. (Read more)
The second annual report said the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by power plants decreased 4.5 percent from 2010 to 2011 because plants used more gas, and that more solar and wind energy is being used. "This report confirms that major carbon reduction from power plants wouldn't be possible without a reliable and affordable supply of domestically produced natural gas," Simon Lomax, research director at Energy in Depth, a group launched by the Independent Petroleum Association of America, told Bloomberg.
Methane, the greenhouse gas that is emitted during drilling, hydraulic fracturing and transportation of oil and gas, remains in the atmosphere for less time than carbon dioxide, but is "more efficient at trapping radiation, making its short-term impact 20 times greater than carbon dioxide," Drajem notes.
The EPA has proposed regulations for coal-powered plants, and may extend them to existing plants, but it is unclear if it has similar plans for the oil and gas industry. Environmental groups want the EPA to establish standards to prevent methane leakages the activities associated with oil and gas production, Drajem notes. "Reducing fugitive methane emissions is a top priority because they are so powerful," Mark Brownstein, managing director of the Environmental Defense Fund, told Bloomberg. (Read more)
More coal companies could enter bankruptcy, credit rating agency says
More coal companies are shutting down or entering bankruptcy because of competition from cheap natural gas for power generation and rising costs from increased environmental regulation. New data from the Fitch Ratings credit agency predicted increased financial hardships and bankruptcies for coal companies, Moran Zhang reported for International Business Times.
"Since 1994, there have been 11 mining company defaults among producers with at least $25 million in assets as of their bankruptcy filing date," Zhang reported (table below). America West Resources Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, was the most recent coal company to file for bankruptcy, on Feb. 1.
U.S. coal production is down 7 percent, with Central Appalachia declining the most, 16 percent. Zhang noted that more coal plants are scheduled to shut down by 2014 in order to comply with new rules of the Environmental Protection Agency. (Read more)
"Since 1994, there have been 11 mining company defaults among producers with at least $25 million in assets as of their bankruptcy filing date," Zhang reported (table below). America West Resources Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, was the most recent coal company to file for bankruptcy, on Feb. 1.
U.S. coal production is down 7 percent, with Central Appalachia declining the most, 16 percent. Zhang noted that more coal plants are scheduled to shut down by 2014 in order to comply with new rules of the Environmental Protection Agency. (Read more)
Departing EPA boss: Big regret is rural relations
Outgoing Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson's "deepest regret, she said, is that she failed to reach out to rural, often
conservative regions of the United States," Reuters reports. "As a result, she said,
opponents were able to generate politically damaging rumors of looming
regulatory crackdowns, such as a fictitious EPA plan to treat bovine
excretions as dangerous pollutants."
Jackson told the international news service, "If I were starting again, I would from day one make a much stronger effort to do personal outreach in rural America. Had I known that these myths about everything from cow flatulence to spilled milk could be seen as 'The EPA is coming to get you,' I would have spent more time trying to inoculate against that." (Read more)
Zack Colman of The Hill, a Washington, D.C., publication, reports, "Clashes with rural GOP lawmakers characterized much of Jackson’s time in Obama administration, but Jackson has lamented what she says are inaccurate claims about the scope of EPA’s agenda."
Jackson told the international news service, "If I were starting again, I would from day one make a much stronger effort to do personal outreach in rural America. Had I known that these myths about everything from cow flatulence to spilled milk could be seen as 'The EPA is coming to get you,' I would have spent more time trying to inoculate against that." (Read more)
Zack Colman of The Hill, a Washington, D.C., publication, reports, "Clashes with rural GOP lawmakers characterized much of Jackson’s time in Obama administration, but Jackson has lamented what she says are inaccurate claims about the scope of EPA’s agenda."
Bill would make mountaintop-removal permits wait on comprehensive study of health effects
Two House Democrats introduced a bill today that would put a moratorium on new mountaintop-removal mining permits. The sponsors are Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville, the only Democrat in Kentucky's congressional delegation, and Rep. Louise Slaughter of Rochester, N.Y., a native of southeastern Kentucky's Harlan County and a biologist by trade. Their Appalachian Community Health Emergency Act (H.R. 526) would block new permits until federal officials conducted the first comprehensive federal study on the effect of mountaintop removal on the health of residents in the mining areas of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Here is a copy of the legislation.
Though the bill is unlikely to go anywhere in the Republican-controlled House, Slaughter cited "the growing field of evidence that people living near mountaintop removal coal mining sites are at an elevated risk for a range of major health problems," including a study conducted in part by Michael Hendryx, a West Virginia University health researcher. It found that communities near mountaintop-removal mining sites had higher levels of birth defects. Another study found that communities near mountaintop removal coal mining sites had more problems with blood pressure, lung cancer, pulmonary disorders, and and lung, heart, and kidney diseases. For more on Hendryx and his research, click here.
Though the bill is unlikely to go anywhere in the Republican-controlled House, Slaughter cited "the growing field of evidence that people living near mountaintop removal coal mining sites are at an elevated risk for a range of major health problems," including a study conducted in part by Michael Hendryx, a West Virginia University health researcher. It found that communities near mountaintop-removal mining sites had higher levels of birth defects. Another study found that communities near mountaintop removal coal mining sites had more problems with blood pressure, lung cancer, pulmonary disorders, and and lung, heart, and kidney diseases. For more on Hendryx and his research, click here.
Outdoorswoman and Recreational Equipment Inc. CEO nominated for interior secretary
Eilperin characterized the reaction of environmentalists as "cautious optimism," saying many hoped "she could reconnect Americans to their outdoors heritage without stifling drilling and mining operations on land and offshore." Their caution was echoed by some Republicans, Eilperin said, noting "that Jewell's limited political resume made it difficult to pass judgement."
Introducing Jewell, Obama talked about her success at REI while also including some anecdotes about her outdoor enthusiasm, including the month she spent climbing mountains in Antarctica. She worked for Mobil Oil in the late 1970s and participated in brainstorming sessions with then-secretary Dirk Kempthorne under President George W. Bush, Eilperin reports.
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Did rurality and remoteness of the Alabama hostage crisis limit its coverage?
Did the remote location of the Alabama town where a child with autism was held hostage diminish coverage of the crisis? The answer, some say, is yes. Others say that competing news, not regional or rural bias or remoteness, was the reason the hostage crisis in Midland City, Ala., failed to get more coverage. The resulting discussion presents interesting questions about the national coverage of rural events.
Chicago Sun-Times Digital Editor and Alabama native Marcus Gilme expressed his opinion that the reason the dramatic story that unfolded in the last week -- when a child was kidnapped from a school bus and held in an underground bunker for six days -- had to do with geography.
"Had it happened in a large city -- New York, Dallas, even, God forbid, Chicago -- the coverage would be constant, a 24-hour surveillance with every media outlet descending on the city," Gilme said, pointing out that the story involved the major hot topics of "gun control, safety of school children, and mental health" that would typically command national attention in the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., shooting.
Midland City officials asked that coverage be limited, since the kidnapper had a television in his bunker, but Gilme said that wasn't the whole reason the story wasn't bigger: He argues that since it unfolded in a small town of 2,500 people, it was more easily dismissed as "a typical redneck incident" by those in more urban communities. "This is larger than any regional bias," he wrote. "This is a national issue and we have to be willing to look past stereotypes, to be willing to accept both the smaller hyperlocal context as well as the larger, national one."
Andrew Beaujon of The Poynter Institute for Media Studies responded to Gilme's piece with his own, noting that the hostage situation "competed for media oxygen" with the Super Bowl, immigration reform and, in Chicago, gun violence. Furthermore, those who did offer coverage had few updates for readers on a situation that changed little day-to-day.
Addressing Gilme's argument about wider importance, Beaujon said plenty of stories since Newtown have spurred related debate. "The Alabama story, though, bizarre, sadly has plenty of competition for a national conversation-starter on guns," Beaujon said, citing a Slate compilation of gun deaths in the U.S. since the Newtown shooting. "At the time I write this, it records 23 kids as having been killed by gun violence after that incident."
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| Sperling's Best Places map |
"Had it happened in a large city -- New York, Dallas, even, God forbid, Chicago -- the coverage would be constant, a 24-hour surveillance with every media outlet descending on the city," Gilme said, pointing out that the story involved the major hot topics of "gun control, safety of school children, and mental health" that would typically command national attention in the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., shooting.
Midland City officials asked that coverage be limited, since the kidnapper had a television in his bunker, but Gilme said that wasn't the whole reason the story wasn't bigger: He argues that since it unfolded in a small town of 2,500 people, it was more easily dismissed as "a typical redneck incident" by those in more urban communities. "This is larger than any regional bias," he wrote. "This is a national issue and we have to be willing to look past stereotypes, to be willing to accept both the smaller hyperlocal context as well as the larger, national one."
Andrew Beaujon of The Poynter Institute for Media Studies responded to Gilme's piece with his own, noting that the hostage situation "competed for media oxygen" with the Super Bowl, immigration reform and, in Chicago, gun violence. Furthermore, those who did offer coverage had few updates for readers on a situation that changed little day-to-day.
Addressing Gilme's argument about wider importance, Beaujon said plenty of stories since Newtown have spurred related debate. "The Alabama story, though, bizarre, sadly has plenty of competition for a national conversation-starter on guns," Beaujon said, citing a Slate compilation of gun deaths in the U.S. since the Newtown shooting. "At the time I write this, it records 23 kids as having been killed by gun violence after that incident."
Superweeds surging, survey of farmers finds
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| Cutting pigweed in Arkansas. Photo from The Commercial Appeal by Brad Luttrell |
The survey was done by Stratus, an agri-marketing research consultancy. It found that glyphosate-resistant weeds are spreading in just about every way: New regions, more farms and more weed species are involved, Stratus's Kent Fraser reported. Farmers might need to use new crop seeds that are resistant to more powerful herbicides that can kill superweeds, but that will take time for government approval.
Stratus said it surveyed thousands of farmers in 31 states over three years. Its finding that almost half reported glyphosate-resistant weeds on their farms in 2012 was a 34 percent increase from 2011. The South has the biggest problem, with 92 percent of Georgia farmers surveyed reporting glyphosate resistance on their farms. Uther regions are "catching up," Fraser wrote. In Nebraska and Indiana, the number of estimated acres with resistant weeds nearly doubled from 2011 to 2012.
Plants commonly known as horseweed and pigweed were the most commonly reported as resistant, but Fraser said "the problem is getting more complicated" since more farms are reporting having two or more resistant species. Tom Philpott of Mother Jones speculated that companies like Monsanto, which created Roundup and makes "Roundup ready" seeds that allow fields to be sprayed with the herbicide without killing the crops, might encourage farmers to "try out 'next generation' herbicide-resistant seeds—that is, crops engineered to resist not just Roundup, but also other, more toxic herbicides, like 2,4-D and Dicamba," but new seeds would probably not be approved by the Department of Agriculture until at least next year. In the meantime, farmers will likely use more herbicide to curb weeds, Philpott wrote, though another crop to their yearly rotations could decrease superweed growth. (Read more)
USPS says it will end Sat. home delivery of letters and newspapers in Aug.; ball in Congress's court
UPDATE, Feb. 7: The service's "bold, risky move" is stirring support and "fury," The Washington Post reports.
The U.S. Postal Service announced today that it would no longer deliver first-class mail, newspapers and magazines starting in early August, in an effort to stanch multi-billion-dollar deficits, but would continue regular parcel deliveries. The move, which could still be blocked by Congress or court action, is likely to affect rural Americans more than others. Their post offices could also be open less often.
Post offices will remain open for item drop-off, stamp purchase and box access, "but hours likely would be reduced at thousands of smaller locations," Ed O'Keefe reports for The Washington Post. Rural post offices especially have felt the sting of a closures and reduced hours in recent years as USPS losses have mounted. "Opposition to significant changes rests mostly with lawmakers from far-flung rural communities, who fear that a change in schedules could jeopardize low-cost delivery of medicines and medical supplies to elderly customers," O'Keefe writes. The continuation of parcel delivery could blunt that argument.
Newspaper groups have fought efforts to stop Saturday delivery; some small daily newspapers, many of which publish on Saturdays, have moved to mail delivery to eliminate carrier costs. Max Heath, postal consultant to the National Newspaper Association, said the move was a bad business decision: "This move will only speed up the loss of business mail volume due to lack of delivery for Saturday newspapers and shoppers, and slower overall delivery of Periodicals and Standard Mail used by newspapers, with resultant loss of subscribers and advertisers. USPS fails to properly calculate or consider the lost revenue that will accompany the overly-rosy cost-saving projections."
Congress has repeatedly passed legislation to guarantee six-day delivery, but Heath (right) said the service's legal position is that because the latest measure, the continuing resolution to fund the government, expires March 27, it can plan to stop six-day delivery after that "Postmaster General Donahoe explicity challenged the Congress by saying they could makes changes in the law to give relief," Heath told the Kentucky Press News Service. "That begs the question as to whether legislation requiring six-day, if passed or renewed, could not stop this unfortunate decision." (Read more)
"Some in Congress say the Postal Service has exceeded its authority," NPR reports. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said, "The Postal Service’s decision to eliminate Saturday delivery is inconsistent with current law and threatens to further jeopardize its customer base."
Last year the Senate passed a broad postal-reform bill that would have helped USPS financially and guaranteed six-day delivery for two more years, but the House did not act on it. "With postal legislation at an impasse, it’s certainly not a given that Congress would even approve a move to five-day delivery," says Save the Post Office. "The Obama administration has expressed its approval, and the House bill under consideration last year would have permitted the Postal Service to cut Saturdays as soon as six months after passage of new legislation."
Officials predict the Saturday cutbacks will save $2 billion a year, an amount that Save the Post Office doubts. Last year the Postal Service ran a deficit of almost $16 billion, Although new communication technology has decreased the amount of mail delivered, employee benefits are the primary source of its woes. The benefits Congress has required it to pay since 2006 accounted for nearly 70 percent of last year's deficit.
The U.S. Postal Service announced today that it would no longer deliver first-class mail, newspapers and magazines starting in early August, in an effort to stanch multi-billion-dollar deficits, but would continue regular parcel deliveries. The move, which could still be blocked by Congress or court action, is likely to affect rural Americans more than others. Their post offices could also be open less often.
Post offices will remain open for item drop-off, stamp purchase and box access, "but hours likely would be reduced at thousands of smaller locations," Ed O'Keefe reports for The Washington Post. Rural post offices especially have felt the sting of a closures and reduced hours in recent years as USPS losses have mounted. "Opposition to significant changes rests mostly with lawmakers from far-flung rural communities, who fear that a change in schedules could jeopardize low-cost delivery of medicines and medical supplies to elderly customers," O'Keefe writes. The continuation of parcel delivery could blunt that argument.
Newspaper groups have fought efforts to stop Saturday delivery; some small daily newspapers, many of which publish on Saturdays, have moved to mail delivery to eliminate carrier costs. Max Heath, postal consultant to the National Newspaper Association, said the move was a bad business decision: "This move will only speed up the loss of business mail volume due to lack of delivery for Saturday newspapers and shoppers, and slower overall delivery of Periodicals and Standard Mail used by newspapers, with resultant loss of subscribers and advertisers. USPS fails to properly calculate or consider the lost revenue that will accompany the overly-rosy cost-saving projections."
"Some in Congress say the Postal Service has exceeded its authority," NPR reports. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said, "The Postal Service’s decision to eliminate Saturday delivery is inconsistent with current law and threatens to further jeopardize its customer base."
Last year the Senate passed a broad postal-reform bill that would have helped USPS financially and guaranteed six-day delivery for two more years, but the House did not act on it. "With postal legislation at an impasse, it’s certainly not a given that Congress would even approve a move to five-day delivery," says Save the Post Office. "The Obama administration has expressed its approval, and the House bill under consideration last year would have permitted the Postal Service to cut Saturdays as soon as six months after passage of new legislation."
Officials predict the Saturday cutbacks will save $2 billion a year, an amount that Save the Post Office doubts. Last year the Postal Service ran a deficit of almost $16 billion, Although new communication technology has decreased the amount of mail delivered, employee benefits are the primary source of its woes. The benefits Congress has required it to pay since 2006 accounted for nearly 70 percent of last year's deficit.
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Ohio's Kasich 5th GOP governor to OK Medicaid expansion; he, others cite rural hospitals' need
Several Republican governors have decided to expand Medicaid under federal health-care reform, saying their conservative principles were outweighed by a need to protect their state's rural hospitals and low-income people. Yesterday, the governor of one of the biggest states got on the bandwagon.
John Kasich of Ohio joined Jan Brewer of Arizona, Brian Sandoval of Nevada, Susana Martinez of New Mexico and Jack Dalrymple of North Dakota in saying they will take heavy federal subsidies to expand the program to households with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty threshold.
UPDATE, Feb. 8: "Each of those seemed special cases: North Dakota is flush from its oil and gas boom, and Nevada and New Mexico are increasingly blue-leaning states with Democratic-controlled legislatures. Arizona is different," Ron Brownstein writes in the National Journal. He notes that Brewer said taking the federal money will “protect rural and safety-net hospitals” from excessive costs for uncompensated care; create “thousands of jobs” and cover many people now uninsured.
While Kasich is not an "Obamacare" supporter, he said expanding Medicaid “makes great sense for Ohio” because it would save $235 million over the next two years and free about $100 million in local funds for mental-health and addiction services, reports The Columbus Dispatch.
Kasich said the decision could extend health coverage to as many as 578,000 uninsured Ohio residents, and could keep everyone else’s health insurance premiums down because there won’t be so many uninsured people going to emergency rooms for their medical care, reports David Nather of Politico.
Kasich emphasized that he would like to see the 2010 law repealed, but the federal money it would pump into the state — about $13 billion over the next seven years — was too much to pass up, reports Stateline. The federal government will pay the full cost of expansion through 2016; then states will have to pitch in, rising to a limit of 10 percent by 2020.
Brewer likewise said it doesn't make sense for Arizona to pass up federal dollars, reports Howard Fischer of the Arizona Daily Sun. "We will protect rural and safety-net hospitals from being pushed to the brink by growing their cost in caring for the uninsured," Brewer said. She also said the expansion will create enormous economic benefit, inject $2 billion into the Arizona economy, save and create thousands of jobs and provide health care to hundreds of thousands of low-income individuals, reports Fischer.
Brewer said going along with expansion will save Arizona money because the costs of providing care to the uninsured are not simply absorbed by hospitals but passed along through increased insurance premiums. Supporters of the expansion hope the five Republicans' decisions will prompt more GOP governors to follow suit. Twenty governors from both political parties are still undecided. (Read more)
John Kasich of Ohio joined Jan Brewer of Arizona, Brian Sandoval of Nevada, Susana Martinez of New Mexico and Jack Dalrymple of North Dakota in saying they will take heavy federal subsidies to expand the program to households with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty threshold.
UPDATE, Feb. 8: "Each of those seemed special cases: North Dakota is flush from its oil and gas boom, and Nevada and New Mexico are increasingly blue-leaning states with Democratic-controlled legislatures. Arizona is different," Ron Brownstein writes in the National Journal. He notes that Brewer said taking the federal money will “protect rural and safety-net hospitals” from excessive costs for uncompensated care; create “thousands of jobs” and cover many people now uninsured.
While Kasich is not an "Obamacare" supporter, he said expanding Medicaid “makes great sense for Ohio” because it would save $235 million over the next two years and free about $100 million in local funds for mental-health and addiction services, reports The Columbus Dispatch.
Kasich said the decision could extend health coverage to as many as 578,000 uninsured Ohio residents, and could keep everyone else’s health insurance premiums down because there won’t be so many uninsured people going to emergency rooms for their medical care, reports David Nather of Politico.
Kasich emphasized that he would like to see the 2010 law repealed, but the federal money it would pump into the state — about $13 billion over the next seven years — was too much to pass up, reports Stateline. The federal government will pay the full cost of expansion through 2016; then states will have to pitch in, rising to a limit of 10 percent by 2020.
Brewer likewise said it doesn't make sense for Arizona to pass up federal dollars, reports Howard Fischer of the Arizona Daily Sun. "We will protect rural and safety-net hospitals from being pushed to the brink by growing their cost in caring for the uninsured," Brewer said. She also said the expansion will create enormous economic benefit, inject $2 billion into the Arizona economy, save and create thousands of jobs and provide health care to hundreds of thousands of low-income individuals, reports Fischer.
Brewer said going along with expansion will save Arizona money because the costs of providing care to the uninsured are not simply absorbed by hospitals but passed along through increased insurance premiums. Supporters of the expansion hope the five Republicans' decisions will prompt more GOP governors to follow suit. Twenty governors from both political parties are still undecided. (Read more)
Every 65½ minutes, a veteran commits suicide
UPDATE, Feb. 8: ProPublica has aggregated what it says is the best reporting on mental trauma and the military, here.
Almost every hour in this country, on average, a veteran commits suicide. The Department of Veterans Affairs reported that 22 veterans per day took their own lives in 2010, up four a day from the 2007 rate. Perhaps contrary to public perception, the report said most suicides occurred among veterans over 50. It recognized Vietnam-era veterans as a risk group, as well as female veterans.
Military service members come disproportionately from rural areas, which usually lack the types of mental-health services available in urban areas.
(Among active service members in 2012, more died from suicide than in combat, we reported here. The Army said Friday that 325 soldiers committed suicides last year; if the tentative number is confirmed, it would be a historical high. "If that bleak total remains at 325, the toll in 2012 would have risen by 15 percent over 2011 when the Army sustained 283 suicides," NBC News reported.)
Reactions to the report about veterans' suicides ranged from encouragement to outrage. The VA pointed out that the daily veteran suicide rate has "remained relatively stable over the past 12 years," but the percentage of the overall national suicide rate accounted for by veteran suicide has actually decreased. Veteran suicides accounted for about one-fifth of American suicides in 2010, down from one-fourth of suicides in 1999.
The VA said that showed its programs are working, but promised to take "immediate actions." NBC reported that "the top strategy" on the VA's agenda was an already-established task force that could help suicide screening identify warning signs earlier.
Some groups were dismayed by the VA report and demanded more action. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America called for more research and collaboration. "The country should be outraged that we are allowing this tragedy to continue," IAVA found and CEO Paul Rieckhoff told NBC.
On Feb. 13, the U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs will hold a hearing on veterans and mental health care. The Veterans Crisis Line -- 800-273-TALK -- is available for veterans who are concerned about their mental health. (Read more)
Almost every hour in this country, on average, a veteran commits suicide. The Department of Veterans Affairs reported that 22 veterans per day took their own lives in 2010, up four a day from the 2007 rate. Perhaps contrary to public perception, the report said most suicides occurred among veterans over 50. It recognized Vietnam-era veterans as a risk group, as well as female veterans.
Military service members come disproportionately from rural areas, which usually lack the types of mental-health services available in urban areas.
(Among active service members in 2012, more died from suicide than in combat, we reported here. The Army said Friday that 325 soldiers committed suicides last year; if the tentative number is confirmed, it would be a historical high. "If that bleak total remains at 325, the toll in 2012 would have risen by 15 percent over 2011 when the Army sustained 283 suicides," NBC News reported.)
Reactions to the report about veterans' suicides ranged from encouragement to outrage. The VA pointed out that the daily veteran suicide rate has "remained relatively stable over the past 12 years," but the percentage of the overall national suicide rate accounted for by veteran suicide has actually decreased. Veteran suicides accounted for about one-fifth of American suicides in 2010, down from one-fourth of suicides in 1999.
The VA said that showed its programs are working, but promised to take "immediate actions." NBC reported that "the top strategy" on the VA's agenda was an already-established task force that could help suicide screening identify warning signs earlier.
Some groups were dismayed by the VA report and demanded more action. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America called for more research and collaboration. "The country should be outraged that we are allowing this tragedy to continue," IAVA found and CEO Paul Rieckhoff told NBC.
On Feb. 13, the U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs will hold a hearing on veterans and mental health care. The Veterans Crisis Line -- 800-273-TALK -- is available for veterans who are concerned about their mental health. (Read more)
S. Calif. paper's investment inspires rural journalist to wave the flag of print journalism
By Al Cross
Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues
The Orange County Register's recent recommitment to print journalism, under a new owner who might even buy the neighboring Los Angeles Times, is encouraging news to rural journalists like Rita Dukes Smith, who recently returned to the reporting staff of The Messenger in Madisonville, Ky., Hopkins County's daily newspaper, after 10 years editing The Leader-News in adjoining Muhlenberg County.
Community newspapers have been the healthiest part of the industry for several years, but are beginning to encounter online competition. Madisonville is also the home of SurfKy.com, an online-only news operation aimed at several counties, mostly in Western Kentucky. It came to mind as I read Rita's editorial in today's Messenger, titled "Print journalists are backbone of news industry." (Amen.)
Rita notes that the Register has "hired dozens of reporters to cover high school sporting events and meetings," as well as investigative reporters (and, as luck would have it, feature writer Amy Wilson, who is returning to the paper after stints at our Institute and the Lexington Herald-Leader). "Investment is being made in good, old-fashioned reporting," she writes. "The paper is bolstering its print quality while not abandoning its digital presence, according to a story by the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard." (That story, by Ken Doctor, is here.)
"Reading about the Register’s strategies is encouraging for those of us who make our living in the newspaper industry," Rita writes. "Print media has a higher standard to get the news right the first time. With clear, black print on white paper, a newspaper story becomes historical record. If we get it wrong, we can’t pretend we didn’t by striking the delete key on a web template like an online-only news source."
Rita says print reporters provide "an experienced ear and desire to find and report the truth. We go to meetings that you cannot always attend, unraveling the information you need to know and putting it in your morning paper in black and white, easy to understand language. It is then placed on our website for your convenience. The content is an extension or enhancement of our journalists’ hard work, experience and ethics. It is not a dot/dash, copy/paste replacement for real news." (Read more)
Rita's column has an epigram from the PressThink blog of Jay Rosen of New York University: “It’s absurd to claim that ‘anyone’ can be a journalist if we mean by that someone who knows how to find the right sources and ask the right questions, dig for information, counter the spin, produce a fair, accurate and unflinching account without libeling anybody — and do it all on deadline.” (Read more)
The Messenger, a Paxton Media paper, recently won the small-daily category of the Kentucky Press Association contest. And one thing about the Register: In a sense, it may be the largest community newspaper in America. Orange County has 4 million people, but is only a fourth of the L.A. metropolitan area and gets little coverage from the L.A. television stations that dominate the area. Like good community newspapers, it still owns the local news franchise, and it has several weeklies that help maintain it.
Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues
The Orange County Register's recent recommitment to print journalism, under a new owner who might even buy the neighboring Los Angeles Times, is encouraging news to rural journalists like Rita Dukes Smith, who recently returned to the reporting staff of The Messenger in Madisonville, Ky., Hopkins County's daily newspaper, after 10 years editing The Leader-News in adjoining Muhlenberg County.
Community newspapers have been the healthiest part of the industry for several years, but are beginning to encounter online competition. Madisonville is also the home of SurfKy.com, an online-only news operation aimed at several counties, mostly in Western Kentucky. It came to mind as I read Rita's editorial in today's Messenger, titled "Print journalists are backbone of news industry." (Amen.)
Rita notes that the Register has "hired dozens of reporters to cover high school sporting events and meetings," as well as investigative reporters (and, as luck would have it, feature writer Amy Wilson, who is returning to the paper after stints at our Institute and the Lexington Herald-Leader). "Investment is being made in good, old-fashioned reporting," she writes. "The paper is bolstering its print quality while not abandoning its digital presence, according to a story by the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard." (That story, by Ken Doctor, is here.)
"Reading about the Register’s strategies is encouraging for those of us who make our living in the newspaper industry," Rita writes. "Print media has a higher standard to get the news right the first time. With clear, black print on white paper, a newspaper story becomes historical record. If we get it wrong, we can’t pretend we didn’t by striking the delete key on a web template like an online-only news source."
Rita says print reporters provide "an experienced ear and desire to find and report the truth. We go to meetings that you cannot always attend, unraveling the information you need to know and putting it in your morning paper in black and white, easy to understand language. It is then placed on our website for your convenience. The content is an extension or enhancement of our journalists’ hard work, experience and ethics. It is not a dot/dash, copy/paste replacement for real news." (Read more)
Rita's column has an epigram from the PressThink blog of Jay Rosen of New York University: “It’s absurd to claim that ‘anyone’ can be a journalist if we mean by that someone who knows how to find the right sources and ask the right questions, dig for information, counter the spin, produce a fair, accurate and unflinching account without libeling anybody — and do it all on deadline.” (Read more)
The Messenger, a Paxton Media paper, recently won the small-daily category of the Kentucky Press Association contest. And one thing about the Register: In a sense, it may be the largest community newspaper in America. Orange County has 4 million people, but is only a fourth of the L.A. metropolitan area and gets little coverage from the L.A. television stations that dominate the area. Like good community newspapers, it still owns the local news franchise, and it has several weeklies that help maintain it.
Smaller congregations mean collaboration, even across denominations, in eastern Dakotas
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| Rev. Tim Koch has two churches. |
As small congregations increasingly struggle to support a full-time pastor's salary and benefits, sharing is become more common. The increasing costs of seminary debt and health benefits have had a grim impact on small congregations. According to one of the Dakotafire articles, it takes roughly 90 to 100 people to support the estimated expense of $70,000 for a seminary-trained pastor. For many churches, that's is too much.
Collaboration -- sometimes across denominations -- has helped some churches survive. Another article told the story of Rev. Tim Blackman, a Baptist minister who became licensed by the United Church of Christ so he could pastor two small churches in Gackle: Grace Baptist and the Gackle United Church of Christ. In another case, three United Methodist churches about 22 miles apart share the services of Rev. Nancy Manning, and all three have had to alter their service times. This intercity and interdenominational cooperation could be a trend in areas with declining population.
“It’s really good to put our heads together with our full ecumenical partners, those that we have a relationship with where we can share pastors back and forth,” Rev. Keith Zeh, a regional mission director for in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, told Dakotafire. “Sometimes when we take a look outside our own denomination, and vice versa, that’s also very helpful.” (Read more)
Federal oil and gas leasing draws ire, support in rural Colorado
President Obama's "all of the above" energy policy, which calls for oil and gas drilling on thousands of acres of public land, is meeting opposition from concerned organic farmers and residents in the rural North Fork Valley of western Colorado.
In March, leases for 114,932 acres of Colorado land will be auctioned, "a tiny piece of what Mr. Obama lauded during last year’s campaign as a historic effort to increase domestic natural-gas production," Jack Healy reports for The New York Times, adding that the reactions of Colorado's citizens are mixed.
Many Paonia residents oppose the leasing, fearing its impact on organic farming and tourism, while many residents of more Republican communities support it because of the jobs and and tax revenues they hope it will bring. Some have also voiced concern about oil spills. The opponents apparently include the weekly Delta County Independent, which described a heated meeting of Bureau of Land Management officials and about 200 Paonia residents in a recent article by asking,"Does anyone in the BLM care about the people and land in the North Fork Valley for anything other than making money from oil and gas leasing?"
Paonia Mayor Neal Schieterman argued that officials were using an outdated resource plan that did not take into consideration the valley's tourism and organic farming, and said the lease sale should be postponed until a better plan could be developed, Healy reports.
Bruce Bertram, who monitors oil and gas for the county commissioners, as having a different perspective. Since only one of the 27 wells drilled in the county in the last 10 years was on federal land, Bertram argued that that "drilling was already at the doorstep to the valley," as Healy put it.
In March, leases for 114,932 acres of Colorado land will be auctioned, "a tiny piece of what Mr. Obama lauded during last year’s campaign as a historic effort to increase domestic natural-gas production," Jack Healy reports for The New York Times, adding that the reactions of Colorado's citizens are mixed.
Many Paonia residents oppose the leasing, fearing its impact on organic farming and tourism, while many residents of more Republican communities support it because of the jobs and and tax revenues they hope it will bring. Some have also voiced concern about oil spills. The opponents apparently include the weekly Delta County Independent, which described a heated meeting of Bureau of Land Management officials and about 200 Paonia residents in a recent article by asking,"Does anyone in the BLM care about the people and land in the North Fork Valley for anything other than making money from oil and gas leasing?"
Paonia Mayor Neal Schieterman argued that officials were using an outdated resource plan that did not take into consideration the valley's tourism and organic farming, and said the lease sale should be postponed until a better plan could be developed, Healy reports.
Bruce Bertram, who monitors oil and gas for the county commissioners, as having a different perspective. Since only one of the 27 wells drilled in the county in the last 10 years was on federal land, Bertram argued that that "drilling was already at the doorstep to the valley," as Healy put it.
“Some of the folks aren’t making a good judgment about what’s good and
bad,” Bertram told Healy. “There’s a built-in distrust of government and business.
And that permeates through the whole area.” (Read more)
Smallest cattle herd in 61 years will affect farmers, meatpackers and consumers
The U.S. has fewer cattle than at any time in the last six decades, says the Department of Agriculture, which reports that a 2 percent decrease in 2012 made for the smallest herd in 61 years. The small herd size could mean lower profits for farmers and higher prices for consumers.
The causes? Severe drought in 2011 drove up the price of corn and hay feed for farmers in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. Ethanol production in other states, providing distillers' grains for feed, may have helped them weather the drought. Iowa is one of those. "Iowa’s cattle industry is gaining on other states,” Gov. Terry Branstad told a biofuels conference, reports the Des Moines Register. “Iowa and Nebraska are becoming more attractive to cattle feeders than Texas and Oklahoma."
The causes? Severe drought in 2011 drove up the price of corn and hay feed for farmers in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. Ethanol production in other states, providing distillers' grains for feed, may have helped them weather the drought. Iowa is one of those. "Iowa’s cattle industry is gaining on other states,” Gov. Terry Branstad told a biofuels conference, reports the Des Moines Register. “Iowa and Nebraska are becoming more attractive to cattle feeders than Texas and Oklahoma."
Losses in the industry are expected to impact consumers. Beef prices rose about 10 percent in 2012, according to the Register. The nation's largest meat processor, Tyson Foods, projected hardships but remained optimistic. "Tyson Chief Executive Officer Donnie Smith noted higher prices for feed grain and livestock production, but said continued strong demand for red meat has enabled Tyson to recover most of the costs at retail," the Register reported.
The financial impact on slaughterhouses remains to be seen. Cargill recently announced its plans to close a Texas plant and Tyson has considered closing one of its Iowa plants, the Register reports.
Monday, February 04, 2013
State incentives lure people to rural Kansas, but counties struggle to keep their end of the bargain
A Kansas program designed to encourage more people to move to rural parts of the state is experiencing both participant success and financial concerns.
Amy Bickel of The Hutchinson News reports that the Rural Opportunity Zones program rewards people who move to decreasing-population counties, with income-tax breaks and student-loan assistance. The program pays up to $15,000 of a successful applicant's student loans. Since the program began in 2011, 628 people have applied for the student-loan benefit. More than half of those applications have been approved, and 151 more are pending, according to the article.
However, the expectation that counties match the money put forward for loan payments up to $15,000 is placing a financial burden on the counties the program aims to benefit. Bickel writes, "The program's success is presenting the biggest challenge."
Amy Bickel of The Hutchinson News reports that the Rural Opportunity Zones program rewards people who move to decreasing-population counties, with income-tax breaks and student-loan assistance. The program pays up to $15,000 of a successful applicant's student loans. Since the program began in 2011, 628 people have applied for the student-loan benefit. More than half of those applications have been approved, and 151 more are pending, according to the article.
However, the expectation that counties match the money put forward for loan payments up to $15,000 is placing a financial burden on the counties the program aims to benefit. Bickel writes, "The program's success is presenting the biggest challenge."
Big story on N.D. oil boom has lesson for reporters
Brown's long story is a broad, deep look at what happens to a rural area where the economy was based on production agriculture but is now based on energy production. He starts with a look back at a glimpse of the boom's harbingers, the geologists and leasing agents "whose job was to dig through courthouse books for the often-tangled history of mineral title and surface rights. . . . Because the courthouse didn’t open until 7:30, the landmen would leave their briefcases outside the entrance, on the steps, in the order they arrived." (Read more)
The lesson of this story for journalists is to be alert for harbingers. When it comes to oil and natural gas, too many landowners have signed up for a poor deal because they didn't know how much demand there was for their mineral rights. Their news media should be telling them.
Report says veteran suicide rate is up from 2007
Almost every hour in this country, on average, a veteran commits suicide. The Department of Veterans Affairs reported that 22 veterans per day took their own lives in 2010, up four a day from the 2007 rate. Perhaps contrary to public perception, the report said most suicides occurred among veterans over 50. It recognized Vietnam-era veterans as a risk group, as well as female veterans.
Military service members come disproportionately from rural areas, which usually lack the depth and breadth of mental-health services found in urban areas.
(Among active service members in 2012, more died from suicide than in combat, we reported here. The Army said Friday that 325 soldiers committed suicides last year; if the tentative number is confirmed, it would be a historical high. "If that bleak total remains at 325, the toll in 2012 would have risen by 15 percent over 2011 when the Army sustained 283 suicides," NBC News reported.)
Reactions to the VA report ranged from encouragement to outrage. The VA pointed out that the daily veteran suicide rate has "remained relatively stable over the past 12 years," but the percentage of the overall national suicide rate accounted for by veteran suicide has actually decreased. Veteran suicides accounted for about one-fifth of American suicides in 2010, down from one-fourth of suicides in 1999.
The VA said that showed its programs are working, but promised to take "immediate actions." NBC reported that "the top strategy" on the VA's agenda was an already-established task force that could help suicide screening identify warning signs earlier.
Some groups were dismayed by the VA report and demanded more action. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America called for more research and collaboration. "The country should be outraged that we are allowing this tragedy to continue," IAVA found and CEO Paul Rieckhoff told NBC.
On Feb. 13, the U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs will hold a hearing on veterans and mental health care. The Veterans Crisis Line -- 800-273-TALK -- is available for veterans who are concerned about their mental health. (Read more)
Military service members come disproportionately from rural areas, which usually lack the depth and breadth of mental-health services found in urban areas.
(Among active service members in 2012, more died from suicide than in combat, we reported here. The Army said Friday that 325 soldiers committed suicides last year; if the tentative number is confirmed, it would be a historical high. "If that bleak total remains at 325, the toll in 2012 would have risen by 15 percent over 2011 when the Army sustained 283 suicides," NBC News reported.)
Reactions to the VA report ranged from encouragement to outrage. The VA pointed out that the daily veteran suicide rate has "remained relatively stable over the past 12 years," but the percentage of the overall national suicide rate accounted for by veteran suicide has actually decreased. Veteran suicides accounted for about one-fifth of American suicides in 2010, down from one-fourth of suicides in 1999.
The VA said that showed its programs are working, but promised to take "immediate actions." NBC reported that "the top strategy" on the VA's agenda was an already-established task force that could help suicide screening identify warning signs earlier.
Some groups were dismayed by the VA report and demanded more action. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America called for more research and collaboration. "The country should be outraged that we are allowing this tragedy to continue," IAVA found and CEO Paul Rieckhoff told NBC.
On Feb. 13, the U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs will hold a hearing on veterans and mental health care. The Veterans Crisis Line -- 800-273-TALK -- is available for veterans who are concerned about their mental health. (Read more)
At least one U.S. newspaper still does it the old way, the really old way: hot type
In an age where newspapers are increasingly read without the benefit of ink, there is at least one U.S. paper that still prints not only with ink, but solely with the metal type and hot lead that began disappearing in the 1960s. It's the weekly Saguache Crescent of southern Colorado's San Luis Valley, published by Dean Coombs, reports Jonathan Thompson of High Country News.
"The Crescent, now in its 134th year, perseveres, unsullied by the digital world: The office has no computer, no Internet. Coombs bangs out each edition on the keyboard of a 90-year-old Linotype (below; Thompson photo), which forges each line of text, or slug, from molten lead. He arranges the slugs, along with ads and graphics -- engraved into wood or metal -- in the chase, a rectangular metal frame. After they're secured into the press, the chase and type are inked, and the newsprint rolls over them," in "an ancient printing press that emanates a rhythmic whir-swoosh." (Read more)
"The Crescent, now in its 134th year, perseveres, unsullied by the digital world: The office has no computer, no Internet. Coombs bangs out each edition on the keyboard of a 90-year-old Linotype (below; Thompson photo), which forges each line of text, or slug, from molten lead. He arranges the slugs, along with ads and graphics -- engraved into wood or metal -- in the chase, a rectangular metal frame. After they're secured into the press, the chase and type are inked, and the newsprint rolls over them," in "an ancient printing press that emanates a rhythmic whir-swoosh." (Read more)
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