Food makers say they will reduce methane emissions on dairy farms
Six major food companies, from General Mills to Danone, said at the UN climate summit that they will reduce their dairy methane emissions as part of a new alliance that includes a major U.S. environmental group. The Dairy Methane Action Alliance will require members to publicly disclose emissions within their dairy supply chains and implement a methane action plan.
House Agriculture chair has prostate cancer
Rep. Glenn Thompson, chair of the House Agriculture Committee, said on Tuesday that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, the second-most common cancer among men. “I will tackle this head-on,” he vowed in a statement.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Teens in poultry plant: A California poultry processor and its owner agreed to pay $3.8 million in back wages, damages, and penalties for employing “children as young as 14 years old to debone poultry using sharp knives and operate power-driven lifts to move pallets.” (Department of Labor)
‘Retirement without a net’: Tens of thousands of undocumented farmworkers are laboring into old age without benefits, such as Medicare and Social Security, that would enable them to stop working. (New York Times)
Online loan application: The Farm Service Agency launched an interactive online application for its Direct Loans with the goal of making it easier for farmers and ranchers to request loans and provide supporting documents. (USDA)
Aid for organic dairies: A letter from 32 farm-state lawmakers urged the USDA to release the remaining $83 million allocated to organic dairy producers to offset the effects of drought, floods, and high production costs. (Rep. Pingree)
Carp capture: Wildlife officials caught 323 invasive carp in the Mississippi River about 130 miles southeast of Minneapolis in what was described as the single largest capture of the fish in Minnesota to date. (Associated Press)
