Happy Friday everyone, we have missed a couple of weeks with the news update but hopefully we are back in full swing.
A federal district court has ruled that Bill Koch must sell back Akaushi cattle to HeartBrand Beef. The court upholds a federal jury award from May of 2014. HeartBrand Beef is the exclusive U.S. genetic holder of Akaushi cattle, indigenous to Japan. The opinion is interesting, and I hope to get a post-up in the near future. To read more, click over to the Denver Post’s article (http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_28783110/texas-judge-says-bill-koch-must-pay-damages).
Jonathan Coppess, Gary Schnitkey, and Nick Paulson of the University of Illinois and Carl Zulauf of the Ohio State University posted last Friday on Farmdoc Daily information that PLC and ARC program payments maybe reduced by sequestration. For more information, on how sequestration could impact ARC and PLC payments, click over to Farmdoc Daily (http://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2015/09/sequestration-and-farm-program-payments.html). For estimated county ARC payments in Maryland, do not forget that Howard Leathers has pulled together this information here (http://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/16754).
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is warning consumers not to eat products made by Picnic Gourmet Spreads for possibly being contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. More information can be found on Food Safety News (http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/09/md-testing-finds-listeria-in-picnic-gourmet-cheese-spreads/).
Midshore Riverkeepers are pointing to agriculture as the main source of pollution in the Bay. To read more about the Riverkeepers points, see the main story on the Star Democrat’s website.
Finally, we have some congratulations to announce. On August 13, Sarah Everhart and her husband welcomed a healthy baby girl into the world (see photo). Congratulations to the Everharts! On Sept. 11, Ashley Newhall got married. Congratulations to the newlywed couple! Finally, congratulations go to my friend and colleague Tiffany Lashmet at Texas A&M and her husband who welcomed into the world last week a healthy baby boy! The comments are on, so feel free to offer congratulations in the comments section.