Latest Agriculture and the environment News
Iowa court reverses precedent on Iowa pig farm lawsuits
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court on Thursday reversed a long-standing precedent that allowed landowners to sue for damages when a neighboring hog farm causes water pollution or odor problems that affect quality of life. The court concluded, 4-3, that a 2004 decision...
North Dakota AG clears farmland purchase tied to Bill Gates
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's attorney general has found the sale of a couple thousand acres of prime farmland to a group tied to Bill Gates complies with a Depression-era law meant to protect family farms because the land is being leased back to farmers. The state's Republican...
US agency to limit predator killing methods in Idaho
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A U.S. agency responsible for killing wolves and other predators to prevent attacks on livestock has agreed to settle a lawsuit by completing an extensive environmental study on its methods in Idaho. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services also...
Dutch PM condemns protests by farmers at minister's home
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch prime minister on Wednesday condemned a violent protest by farmers outside the home of the country's agriculture minister amid increasingly bold demonstrations against the government's plans to rein in pollution. A small group of farmers...
EXPLAINER: Why are Dutch farmers protesting over emissions?
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Farmers protested around the Netherlands as lawmakers voted Tuesday on proposals to slash emissions of damaging pollutants, a plan that will likely force farmers to cut their livestock herds or stop work altogether. The government says emissions of...
Relicensing for Idaho Power's Hells Canyon Project advancing
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho public utility’s nearly two-decade effort to renew its license for a three-dam hydroelectric project on the Snake River on the Idaho-Oregon Border is moving forward with federal regulators announcing plans to update an environmental study. The Federal...
Angry farmers block Dutch highways to protest pollution plan
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Farmers driving tractors blocked highways in the Netherlands on Monday and set small blazes outside at least two town halls in the latest protest sparked by a government pledge to rein in pollution emissions, a move that will hit the country's agriculture sector. ...
Australian data: Greenhouse gas emissions rose in 2021
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s new government on Monday blamed the previous administration’s inaction on climate change for an increase in the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions last year. Australia emitted 488 million metric tons (538 million U.S. tons) of carbon...
New Colombian president pledges to protect rainforest
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first elected leftist president, will take office in August with ambitious proposals to halt the record-high rates of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. Petro has promised to limit agribusiness expansion into the forest, and create reserves...
Pick your own berries, flowers on farms in SW Louisiana
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — There are rows upon rows of sunflowers and zinnias at Petite Anse Farm in New Iberia, but they’re not just meant to be seen. The hardy flowers suited to the heat of south Louisiana summers are there to be picked. Farm owners and operators Andrew “Andy”...
