Agriculture

"A New Mexico meat plant received federal approval on Friday to slaughter horses for meat, a move that drew immediate opposition from animal rights group and will likely be opposed by the White House."

"In response to a massive bumblebee die-off blamed on pesticides, the Oregon Department of Agriculture issued a temporary restriction Thursday on 18 insecticides with the active ingredient dinotefuran."

"Thunderstorms that brought significant rainfall to the northern U.S. Midwest early this week, accompanied by warm temperatures, bolstered growth prospects for recently planted corn and soybean crops, an agricultural meteorologist said on Wednesday."

"In 2006, the EPA’s Chicago office told Midwestern fertilizer dealers it found problems with nearly all their safety plans for poisonous anhydrous ammonia. Fix them, the EPA wrote the dealers, or face possible fines."

"As Central American coffee growers are staggered by a spreading fungal disease, the price and availability of good coffee hangs in the balance."

"Seattle has set itself an 86-page to-do list to help it reach carbon neutrality by 2050."

"The surprise defeat of the farm bill in the House on Thursday underscored the ideological divide between the more conservative, antispending Republican lawmakers and their leadership, who failed to garner sufficient votes from their caucus as well as from Democrats."

PETA and other animal-welfare groups go undercover to document animal abuse in various agricultural and scientific facilities. Now, as state legislatures pass "Ag-Gag" laws at the urging of industry, the crime may be exposing it.

"Ever heard of the World Food Prize? It's sometimes called the "Nobel Prize for food and agriculture," but it has struggled to get people's attention. Prize winners tend to be agricultural insiders, and many are scientists. Last year's laureate, for instance, was Daniel Hillel, a pioneer of water-saving 'micro-irrigation.'"