Latest Agriculture and the environment News

New Zealand river's personhood status offers hope to Māori
WHANGANUI, New Zealand (AP) — The Whanganui River is surging into the ocean, fattened from days of winter rain and yellowed from the earth and clay that has collapsed into its sides. Logs and debris hurtle past as dusk looms. Sixty-one-year-old Tahi Nepia is calmly paddling his...
New Mexico seeks proposals with mine spill settlement funds
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is calling for proposals that would be funded with $10 million received as part of a recent settlement stemming from a 2015 mine spill that polluted rivers in three western states. The state and the federal government reached the agreement in June....

Dutchman convicted in farmers' roadblock over emissions
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A man was convicted Thursday of dumping straw on a Dutch road last month and sentenced to 80 hours of unpaid community service work, one of the first cases stemming from widespread protests by Dutch farmers against government plans to slash nitrogen emissions. ...

African wildlife parks face climate, infrastructure threats
MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Africa's national parks, home to thousands of wildlife species such as lions, elephants and buffaloes, are increasingly threatened by below-average rainfall and new infrastructure projects. A prolonged drought in much of the continent's east, exacerbated by...
Georgia farm fined after food waste release causes fish kill
WASHINGTON, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia dairy farm has been fined after a release of food waste caused a fish kill, a rare instance of government getting involved with a practice that counties can't regulate despite chronic complaints from residents. WAGA-TV reports the Georgia...

France's going through its most severe drought ever, PM says
PARIS (AP) — French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne warned that France is facing its “most severe drought” ever recorded and announced the activation of a government crisis unit. Borne said in a written statement on Friday that many areas in France are going through a...

Farmers' group: Talks with Dutch govt delivered 'too little'
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The leader of the Netherlands' top agricultural lobby group said that a first round of talks Friday with a delegation led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte about the government’s nitrogen emissions reduction goals delivered “at the moment, too little" for thousands of...

How the climate deal would help farmers aid the environment
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The climate deal reached last week by Senate Democrats could reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that American farmers produce by expanding programs that help accumulate carbon in soil, fund climate-focused research and lower the abundant methane emissions that come from cows....

A race to save fish as Rio Grande dries, even in Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — On a recent, scorching afternoon in Albuquerque, off-road vehicles cruised up and down a stretch of dry riverbed where normally the Rio Grande flows. The drivers weren't thrill-seekers, but biologists hoping to save as many endangered fish as they could before the sun...
Report: Climate change a challenge for Idaho wildlife
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Climate change could make it more challenging to conserve and manage the state’s most at-risk fish, wildlife and plants, Idaho officials said. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game on Monday released its draft Idaho State Wildlife Action Plan that will guide...
