March 11: Stories That Caught Our Attention This Week - Modern Farmer

March 11: Stories That Caught Our Attention This Week

One candidate finally mentions ag, olive oil is in trouble, and we're getting a pet baby donkey.

mini donkeys
Flickr: if_winter_ends

Finally, at least one of the presidential candidates addressed agriculture. (We’ve been waiting.) In Wednesday’s Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton chastised Bernie Sanders for voting against the 2007 immigration overhaul that would have expanded guest worker visas, which allow many of this nation’s farmworkers to be here. Sanders reportedly voted against it because it left migrant workers susceptible to exploitation.

Hot temps in 2015 have reportedly caused an olive oil shortage, according to the International Olive Council. The 2014-2015 olive harvest was the worst in twenty years: a bummer for Mediterranean food enthusiasts everywhere.

Alert! Alert! Twenty miniature donkeys are up for adoption in Arizona! If you’re considering applying, fill out the application and know that these herd animals need another furry friend (be it a donkey or a dog) to prevent loneliness and stress.

Yellowstone National Park plans to slaughter 600 to 900 bison this year in accordance with a 2000 agreement with Montana state officials. Some bison have been captured trying to leave National Park grounds to find food in lower altitudes, and the Montana livestock industry wants to prevent transmission of brucellosis from bison to cattle, which can cause premature calving and death of calves. Although no transmissions have yet been recorded, the slaughter will move forward. The bison meat will be given to local American Indian tribes.

Lastly, researchers want you to open your mind to yet another way to banish food waste: turning it into fiber. Civil Eats reports that researchers are currently experimenting with cornhusks and chicken feathers. Savvy fashion students in Italy focus on orange fibers (which supposedly feel like silk) and others have blazed a trail for fibers made of milk and pineapple leaves.

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