Investigate Midwest (https://investigatemidwest.org/category/opinion/)
At some farming operation in Iowa animal activists may legally be running an undercover sting operation to reveal inhuman treatment of animals. That's because last month the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, and senior Judge James Gritzner, threw out a 2012 Iowa law that made it a crime for people to gain access to agricultural facilities by “false pretense.”
The Food Marketing Institute is trying to conceal how taxpayer dollars are being spent by recipients of the Supplemental Food Assistance Program. To date it’s been an almost eight-year court battle between South Dakota's Argus Leader newspaper and USDA and FMI.
When it comes to China rarely are things as they seem, there is no deal till there is a deal, and even after the ink dries China is fully capable of ignoring what they promised if it suits their national interests.
Breaking out major prognostic tools (including an 8-ball, Ouija board, paper fortune teller and dart board...yeah we're high tech around here) here are some of the big agricultural issues on the horizon for 2019.
In the past year Dave Dickey has blogged and waxed on a number of consequential agricultural events. Find out which ag story was the the most consequential in 2018.
I expect an increase in retail prices for pork, veal and eggs until enough farmers in California change animal housing systems. The big question is whether the courts will require that out-of-state ag-giants comply with Prop 12 in order to trade with California ... and if so, what will the Smithfield Foods of the world do?
Generally speaking, pork barrel politics amounts to politicians trading favors to constituents or special interest groups for political support, often as campaign contributions. Pork barrel spending, better known as earmarks in federal spending bills, have surged in 2018. Who may be profiting this year? Smithfield Foods.
In Dave Dickey's latest opinion, he writes that the $12 billion federal ag bailout is more than a Band-Aid in what may be a multi-growing season conflict with China. And that conflict is problematic for U.S. ag for a number of reasons.