OKAgPolicy Today is a morning email containing the day’s top agriculture and policy headlines. The inclusion of a particular story does not equal an endorsement. Subscribe to the email here.
TOP HEADLINES
Down ballot: Oklahoma measure may alter life of cowboys:
Correspondent Douglas Kennedy went to Oklahoma to consider one ballot measure at the heart of an American tradition: the cowboy [Fox News].
For SQ777:
In order to keep programs and projects that encourage efficient and safe farming practices, we need to give the power of decision-making back to Oklahomans [NewsOK].
FEDERAL
Many GOP candidates abandoning traditional stance on trade:
It used to be that Republican politicians were proud to pronounce their support for free trade, because they knew that on the whole, robust trade policy benefits the United States and other countries. This bizarre election season has seen that approach turned upside-down [The Oklahoman].
Anti-trade senators say chamber would be crazy to pass TPP:
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) sent a sharp warning to his colleagues Thursday: If senators approve President Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, they’re crazy [The Hill].
McConnell: Next president key to TPP:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says America needs to step up in the world trade market, but a lame duck vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership might not accomplish that goal [Agri-Pulse].
The worker shortage facing America’s farmers:
More than half of U.S. farm workers are undocumented immigrants, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Yet, that pool of workers is shrinking [CNN Money].
MISCELLANEOUS
Drought spreading across Oklahoma, U.S. Drought Monitor indicates:
The U.S. Drought Monitor says drought-stricken areas are spreading across Oklahoma.According to the monitor more than 19 percent of the state is in moderate drought, including metropolitan Tulsa, other parts of northeastern Oklahoma and southern Oklahoma [Tulsa World].
California plans ban on farmers spraying some pesticides near schools:
California is moving to ban farmers from spraying pesticides into the air near schools and day care centers under a newly proposed rule that will be among the nation’s toughest, regulators told The Associated Press on Thursday [CBS Sacramento].
GMO foods: Are they really bad for us?:
The question remains why anti-GMO activists are so adamant that modified foods are harmful to humans. We must remember that essentially our entire food supply has been modified by humans over millennia [Philly.com].
