Antibiotic use in livestock cannot make up for poor management.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania has signed a letter of agreement with 10 Mid-Atlantic states that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels and other sources by developing a comprehensive, regional low carbon fuel standard, according to Governor Edward G. Rendell.
“This partnership will work closely on a standard for the entire region,” Governor Rendell […]

Agricultural crop production relies on composted waste materials and byproducts, such as animal manure, municipal solid waste composts, and sewage sludge, as a necessary nutrient source.

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — Ohio hog producers had 1,930,000 hogs on hand Dec. 1, 2008, up 5 percent from a year earlier, and up 1 percent from last quarter.
The number of market hogs, at 1,760,000 head, was up 5 percent from last year and up slightly from last quarter.
Breeding stock, at 170,000 head, […]

COLUMBUS — Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher announced the availability of $3.5 million in new grants for solar hot water systems and wind technologies to benefit residential users.
The grants, made available through the Advanced Energy Fund, will be administered by the Ohio Energy Office, located in the Strategic Business Investment Division of the Ohio Department […]

NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio — Judges of the 5th District Court of Appeals have agreed with the decisions of a lower court that permit assessments of property owners by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District to fund a plan of maintenance and rehabilitation in the system of reservoirs and dams in the Muskingum River Watershed.

Here are the news stories you clicked again and again on our Web site in 2008, with starting with the “most clicked” at the top:

Thursday, June 24, 2008 (and updated June 26)
Pigeon King goes bankrupt

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Columbiana County man is using wind to power his home

Thursday, July 3, 2008
Ohio passes revamped line fence […]

WASHINGTON — In 1941, Henry Ford unveiled a plastic-bodied car whose panels included soybean meal as component. The feat made headlines — and history — but the idea never took off commercially.
Continued research
However, researchers continue to toy with the idea, including Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists Lei Jong and Jeffrey Byars, who are testing […]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Preliminary test results indicate the chronic wasting disease (CWD) agent was present in five hunter-harvested deer collected in Hampshire County, W.Va., during the 2008 deer firearms hunting season.
“As part of our agency’s ongoing and intensive CWD monitoring effort, samples were collected from 1,355 hunter-harvested deer brought to game checking stations in Hampshire […]

Weather woes

Weather is always a hot topic in the farmhouse. In March, an ice storm hit northeastern Ohio and western Pa., followed by 23 inches of snow in some places. Snow emergencies were declared in 60 Ohio counties and homes and farms were without electricity for days. And in September, remnants of Hurricane Ike stalled […]