President Barack Obama’s administration, along with eight other countries, last Monday formally invited Mexico to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations. In addition to the U.S., the current TPP countries are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Stulp shared a document from Hickenlooper that came from the Colorado Attorney General’s office, despite the fact that Hickenlooper was in Alaska.

As part of its responsibility to manage and protect wild horses and burros, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is soliciting bids for new long-term pasture facilities—located in the continental U.S. west of the Mississippi River—that provide a free-roaming environment.

Oklahoma’s governor criticized President Barack Obama last week for holding up a Keystone XL Pipeline that she said will greatly benefit her state.

The Montana plane that crashed was owned by Neptune Aviation Services of Missoula, MT, and was built in 1962, according to federal aviation records, but had been modified to fight fires and was among only a handful of airtankers available nationwide..

Last week, the governor signed a “watered-down” bill, as Fetzler put it, that could someday provide some relief. But that relief is not expected to be even considered until after a study, which is slated to be finished sometime in 2013. The bill provides no provision for getting the wells turned on this season.

A federal judge ruled last Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must reconsider previously denied petitions to ban certain antibiotics used in livestock production. This comes just after FDA issued a notice that it would appeal a March ruling determining the agency had broken the law by failing to act on petitions from 1977.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the proposed addition of 12 biobased product categories to become eligible for federal procurement preference. Once the proposed rule is finalized, more than 2,300 additional biobased products will be offered for preferred purchasing consideration by all federal government agencies and contractors.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on June 8 began an emergency horse gather in the Winnimucca, NV, herd management area (HMA) based on concern for the health of the over 900 wild horses that are living on limited resources because of the drought and overpopulation.

“It is important that USDA continue to ensure the integrity of its report release process, particularly as global exchanges move closer to 24-hour trading,” said Glauber. “To this end, USDA is reviewing our procedures and will solicit public input to determine the needs of those who use our data.