INDUSTRY DIRECTORY
July 31, 2015
News

UI animal scientist to serve as Idaho Ag Experiment Station interim director

University of Idaho lactation physiologist Mark McGuire, Animal and Veterinary Science Department head, will serve as interim director of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station beginning Aug. 2 with the retirement of current director Donn Thill.
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July 31, 2015
News

UI weed scientist retires

When Donn Thill retires today as Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station director, he will cap a 35-year career as a University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences professor andweed scientist.
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July 31, 2015
News

T. G. Schmeiser buys Smart-Till

T. G. Schmeiser Co. Inc. acquired the Smart-Till product line on July 1 from HCC Inc. of Mendota, Ill.
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July 31, 2015
News

Syngenta introduces Vibrance seed treatment fungicide

Syngenta announced Vibrance seed treatment fungicide is now registered by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in sugarbeets and will be available beginning this fall for 2016 planting.
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July 31, 2015
News

USDA announces funding for Farm Bill Broadband Loan Program

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the availability of loans to build broadband in rural areas, along with changes to the program required by the 2014 Farm Bill.
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July 30, 2015
News

North Dakota corporate farm law on hold

A North Dakota law lifting a ban on corporate ownership of farms has been put on “hold."
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July 29, 2015
News

Verdesian Life Sciences showcases product portfolio

Technology has revolutionized agriculture by bringing farmers, retailers and distributors to the forefront of the digital age.
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July 28, 2015
News

Political attacks endanger farmers' no. 1 risk-management tool

Farm policy used to focus on providing a safety net for traditional row crops. That was largely due to the Great Depression and its lingering effects.
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July 27, 2015
News

U.S. Water launches PhosZero

U.S. Water has launched PhosZero with E-FeX Technology, a breakthrough in sustainable chemistry for cooling water treatment.
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July 26, 2015
News

Laboratory Management Partners renames to Waypoint Analytical

Laboratory Management Partners, Inc., the largest agricultural and environmental soil testing network in the U.S., announced that it has changed its name to Waypoint Analytical.
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July 26, 2015
News

Monsanto not dissuaded by Syngenta’s earnings report

On Thursday, Syngenta released what many analysts called a “positive” earnings report.
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July 25, 2015
News

FDA makes added sugars proposal

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed updating the nutrition facts label to include a recommended daily maximum for added sugar—10 percent of calories.
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July 25, 2015
News

Next step for GMO labeling measure is Senate

A measure to institute a nationwide GMO labeling standard has yet to be introduced in the U.S. Senate, but that’s the next step before the bill becomes law.
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July 24, 2015
News

Vermont governor says people want GMO labeling

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin said Thursday people who want to know what’s in their food will win the fight against an industry that is trying to block laws that require the labeling of some foods made with genetically modified organisms.
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July 24, 2015
News

GMO label debate a "wicked" problem

The national debate over labeling food that contains genetically modified organisms is a “wicked” problem that cannot be solved or arbitrated by science, an Iowa State University sociology professor said.
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July 24, 2015
News

California proposes historic $1.5M fine for taking water

California regulators on Monday proposed a first-of-its-kind, $1.5 million fine for a group of Central Valley farmers accused of illegally taking water during the drought.
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July 24, 2015
News

House passes bill to prevent mandatory GMO labeling

Companies would not have to disclose whether their food products contain genetically modified ingredients under legislation passed by the House Thursday.
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July 24, 2015
News

It’s unclear whether Obama would sign GMO label bill

It’s unclear whether President Barack Obama would sign House-passed legislation to make the labeling of genetically modified foods voluntary.
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July 24, 2015
News

FDA's recommendation doesn't meet scientific standards

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has an important role in our nation's food supply to ensure that consumers are not misled by positive or negative claims about the food and beverages they purchase and consume.
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July 22, 2015
News

Farmers Edge opens door to a new future of farming

Farmers Edge, a global leader in precision agriculture and independent data management solutions, celebrated its grand opening at its new headquarters in Shakopee, Minn., on July 21.
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July 22, 2015
News

Ag coalition urges GMO bill passage

Nearly 500 member groups of the Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food sent a letter to Congress urging members to support the federal, voluntary GMO labeling bill that passed the House Ag Committee last week.
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July 18, 2015
News

Irrigation water outlook varies in Treasure Valley

The water supply for farmers in the Treasure Valley region of Southwestern Idaho and Eastern Oregon is a mixed bag.
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July 17, 2015
News

Newlyweds travel to reception in huge beet harvester

Agricultural contractor Edward Plowright, who owns family-run J.P Plowright & Son of Barnstone, and his bride, Kayleigh, tied the knot at Waltham Church before Edward took the wheel of the Vervaet harvester—which weighs 35 tonnes unladen and has a maximum
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July 16, 2015
News

Sugar from Cuba not a concern to U.S. sugar producers

Powerful forces with a lot of clout and money are making sure the U.S. Sugar Program stays intact, recently killing long-held plans to flood sugar land in the Everglades while holding on to lucrative subsidies and price supports in Washington.
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July 15, 2015
News

Study critical of sugary drinks

Sugary drinks cause 184,000 deaths worldwide annually, including 25,000 deaths in the United States, according to a new study.
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July 14, 2015
News

Critical meeting ahead for TPP

A meeting aimed at finalizing the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement is set for the last week of July.
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July 14, 2015
News

House Ag Committee approves national GMO labeling bill

The House Ag Committee has taken another step toward a national biotech labeling policy in its Tuesday morning approval of H.R. 1599, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015.
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July 14, 2015
News

Monsanto tells farmers nothing to fear in Syngenta deal

Monsanto President Brett Begemann on Thursday told U.S. soybean growers that if it buys Syngenta, the combined company would be run out of the United States and enough Syngenta operations would be shed to ensure continued market competition for seeds and
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July 14, 2015
News

Vilsack proclaims Aug. 2-8 National Farmers Market Week

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has declared Aug. 2-8 as "National Farmers Market Week."
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July 14, 2015
News

Sugar prices set to remain under pressure

The downward trend in European Union sugar prices appears to be slowing down or perhaps even bottoming out, say Rabobank analysts.
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July 13, 2015
News

Seizing mantle of leadership on sugar policy reform

Maintaining the status quo on America’s sugar policy is unsustainable and unacceptable.
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July 12, 2015
News

Time to end federal corn and sugar subsidies

In the never-ending fight against corporate welfare, the forces of fairness and economic rationality may have found a winning strategy: Divide and conquer.
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July 11, 2015
News

Hail takes toll on beet fields

Hail has been the enemy of many area sugarbeet growers so far this summer. Russ Fullmer, agricultural manager at Sidney Sugars, estimates about 9,500 acres have been hit by hail in the past month.
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July 10, 2015
News

Idaho irrigators back shorter solar, wind energy contracts

Idaho irrigation entities are backing a proposal by the state’s electric companies to significantly shorten mandatory contract lengths for solar and wind projects, believing the change would keep power rates in check.
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July 10, 2015
News

Jury awards over $4M to family of deceased farmworker

A jury awarded more than $4 million to the family of a farmworker electrocuted by a Southern California Edison power line.
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July 10, 2015

FDA proposed "Added Sugars" declaration misleads consumers

"Added Sugars" labeling is once again being considered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its proposed updates to the Nutrition Facts Panels (NFP).
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July 09, 2015
News

Hunter Industries to buy Senninger Irrigation

Hunter Industries and Senninger Irrigation entered into a due diligence phase toward an intended acquisition of Senninger Irrigation by Hunter Industries.
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July 09, 2015
News

EPA says glyphosate not an endocrine disruptor

This has been a difficult couple of months for glyphosate following the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) recent classification of glyphosate as a group 2A “probable carcinogen."
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July 09, 2015
News

Student debt barrier for farmers

A recent survey says student loan debt is stopping more young people from entering agriculture.
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July 08, 2015
News

Hawaii GMO battles will shape West’s rules

Legal battles over genetically modified organisms in Hawaii are expected to shape government authority over biotech crops across the West.
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July 08, 2015
News

EPA’s water rule to take effect Aug. 28

The EPA’s Clean Water Rule will take effect Aug. 28.
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July 08, 2015
News

White House wants updated biotech product strategies

The White House is ordering three federal agencies to update their strategies for regulating biotech products.
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July 07, 2015
News

9-day heat wave finally breaks in Treasure Valley

Treasure Valley farmers say their crops suffered some heat stress during a brutal nine-day heat wave but for the most part made it through OK.
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July 07, 2015
News

Judge says GMO seed moratorium invalid

A federal judge has struck down a voter-approved ban in the state of Hawaii on GMO seed work.
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July 07, 2015
News

Can the White House convince Americans that GMOs are safe?

The White House has a message for America: There's nothing dangerous about genetically modified food that makes it to your dinner plate.
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July 07, 2015
News

Industry groups add to lawsuits against EPA’s water rule

More and more entities are filing lawsuits to force the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to vacate the controversial new rule redefining the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.
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July 06, 2015
News

More shutoff notices issued to Calif. senior water right holders

As the hot, dry summer wears on, shutoff notices to California’s most longstanding water right holders could occur on a weekly or even daily basis, state officials and farm groups warn.
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July 06, 2015
News

Lawyers outline Idaho reservoir refill resolution

Reservoir fill and refill and associated storage rights have always been issues in the massive Snake River Basin Adjudication of more than 158,000 water rights, which stretched 27 years beginning in 1987.
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July 06, 2015
News

Idaho aquifer agreement finalized

Idaho surface and groundwater irrigators have finalized terms of an agreement aiming to reverse declining Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer levels.
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July 06, 2015
News

Groups sue to stop WOTUS

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Farm Bureau, National Pork Producers and other groups have filed suit to block the Waters of the U.S. final rule.
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July 04, 2015
News

China likely to overtake Indonesia as top raw sugar importer

China is likely to overtake Indonesia to become the world's top raw sugar importer in 2015/16, due to buoyant Chinese demand, Paulo Roberto Souza, president of Brazilian supplier Copersucar, said.
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July 02, 2015
News

July Is Smart Irrigation Month

Smart Irrigation Month is here!
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July 02, 2015
News

At least three multiple state lawsuits against WOTUS rule

At least three separate lawsuits have been filed by state attorney generals asking federal courts to strike down the rule that is commonly referred to as the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule scheduled to be implemented by the Environmental Protect
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