Wisconsin man accused of robbing farmhands
MENOMONIE, Wis. (AP) — A Menomonie man faces charges for shaking down Mexican farmhands with a toy pistol and stealing from their home.

Thirty-four-year-old Michael Krieg has been charged with two counts of robbery with use of force and two counts of burglary. The criminal complaint says Krieg took $2,000 and clothing from a home where two Mexican farmhands were staying in the town of Wheaton the day after Christmas.

It says he robbed them again in January, using a toy pistol to get $300 from them. The investigator’s report says Krieg told the workers he was with the police or immigration authorities. Krieg has denied robbing the farmhands. He has a court hearing scheduled for July 8.

Pig rescue underway near Oakville levee
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A rescue effort has been launched to save about 50 pigs stranded on a levee near Oakville where the Iowa River raged out of its banks.

About 25 volunteers from four animal welfare agencies are attempting to reach the animals with feed, apples and Gatorade. That’s according to Colleen Cullen, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts-based International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Her group, the American Humane Assoc., Farm Sanctuary and the Animal Rescue League of Boston are joining in the effort. They had been working in Illinois to help care for abandoned animals and sent some volunteers to Iowa to rescue the pigs.

Mexico calls for reducing ethanol from grain
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s agriculture secretary says ethanol production is bankrupting cattle and poultry farmers and causing food prices to hit record highs around the world.

Agriculture Secretary Alberto Cardenas says countries should change their policies and reduce production of grains for the alternative fuel. Speaking to cattle farmers June 25, Cardenas said the government has earmarked more than $8.75 million to help 500,000 ranchers.

Mexico froze prices on more than 150 food products two weeks ago to help families cope with rising prices. President Felipe Calderon said prices for goods such as beans, canned tuna, fruit juices, coffee, ketchup and canned tomatoes will remain fixed until Dec. 31.

Iowa landowners, producers agree on buffer zone

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Property owners and livestock producers in northwestern Iowa’s Great Lakes region have negotiated a four-mile buffer zone around the lakes, one of the state’s most fragile environmental areas and one of its most popular tourist spots.
Under the agreement, no new livestock farms will be built in the buffer zone, and existing farms agree not to expand.

“This buffer is a victory for both the Iowa Great Lakes region and agriculture,” said William A. Van Orsdel, founder of the Iowa Great Lakes Assoc., a group of property owners. “It shows that agriculture and tourism can work together to achieve great things for Iowa.”
The agreement was negotiated between the property owner association and a group that included some of the largest pork producers in the state, including Christensen Farms, New Fashion Pork, Schwartz Farms, Lynch Livestock and others.

“We listened to the concerns of the area residents and understand the importance tourism is to the Iowa Great Lakes,” said Bob Christensen, head of Christensen Farms. “We are pleased to have been at the table for this agreement from the very beginning.”
The agreement would establish a four-mile “Eco-Tourism Buffer” around the lakes, including West Lake Okoboji, East Lake Okoboji, Big Spirit Lake, Upper Gar, Lower Gar, Minnewashta, Little Spirit Lake, Hottes Lake, Marble Lake Center Lake and Silver Lake.
Those outside the buffer zone would notify residents in advance of plans for a new facility or expansion, and the property owners would facilitate public meetings to discuss the issue. John Stineman, a spokesman for the property owners, conceded enforcement is an issue.

“It’s not a law, it’s not a contract,” he said. He said agreement by such a large section of the pork production industry makes it clear “these are the best practices” and there would be pressure on other producers to comply.

Brazil seizes thousands of cattle in logging crackdown

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Brazilian government seized thousands of cattle grazing on public land in the Amazon rainforest as part of a crackdown on illegal logging, the environment minister said last week.

Carlos Minc said that on June 7, authorities seized 3,100 head of cattle grazing on a ranch illegally located within a nature preserve in the Amazon state of Para. He said another rancher had been warned he had two weeks to remove 10,000 cattle from public land in the Amazon state of Rondonia or risk having them seized.

“The easy times are over. Those who don’t respect (the law) will have their cattle transformed into barbecue for Zero Hunger,” Minc told reporters in Brasilia, the nation’s capital. Zero Hunger is a government program that provides food money for the poor.

The cattle should go to auction within two weeks, barring legal appeals from the ranchers, Minc said. The proceeds will go both to Zero Hunger and also to fund health services for Amazon Indians.
The crackdown on cattle is only the latest operation to focus on profits from illegally cutting down rain forest. In May, Brazil’s environmental protection agency seized 4,300 metric tons of grain, mostly soy and corn, grown on illegally deforested land.

After three years of decline, Amazon deforestation appears to be accelerating again as international demand for agricultural products skyrockets. Cattle pasture already covers 7.8 percent of Brazil’s 1.6 million-square-mile Amazon region where 73 million cows outnumber the human population by about 3-to-1.

Grazing land for cattle is the biggest driver of Amazon
deforestation. Burning to clear new or overgrown pasture in the Amazon region accounts for about 75 percent of Brazil’s total greenhouse gas emissions.