Agriculture
After 25-year, $6 billion failed effort, it's clear: Saving the Chesapeake requires political will to regulate farm runoff, institute and enforce wastewater limits, limit crab and oyster catches and mandate green-building techniques. And: Budget shortages, bureaucratic inertia, political opposition blocked progress (click 'See also').
The editors
The Washington Post 2009-01-02 (entry)
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As cost of meat sinks below costs of raising it and certified slaughterhouses remain scarce, livestock producers in southern Maryland turn attention to other sources of income: greenhouse-grown vegetables, grain, specialty animals, agri-tourism or jobs off the farm.
By Jenna Johnson
The Washington Post 2009-01-03 (entry)
Water flow to California cities, San Joaquin farmers further reduced to protect endangered delta smelt, avert ecological collapse of water crossroads. Contamination, invasive species, power plant operations, climate all damaging Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, says water director. Agriculture interests want new reservoirs, homeowners urged to conserve.
By Bettina Boxall
Los Angeles Times 2008-12-15 (entry)
New website offers access to information about public health, agriculture, and connects the two fields. Johns Hopkins University site, a project of its Center for a Livable Future (click 'See also') links communities, organizations, individuals. Site allows search of databases, vetted collection of reports, journal articles.
By Karla Cook
The Food Times 2008-12-14 (entry)
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Obama needs secretary of food, not USDA - to address health care, climate change, energy independence. 'Department of Food' would give primacy to America's 300 million eaters, cut influence of industrial farm lobby, which inflicts unhealthy food on children through school lunches and exacerbates crisis of obesity, diabetes. And: Petition lists terrific reformist candidates (click 'See also').
By Nicholas D. Kristof
The New York Times 2008-12-11 (entry)
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New Atlantic bluefin tuna quota creates danger of catastrophic species collapse. Sharply reduced quotas or, better, moratorium on tuna fishing, may be radical, but only radical move will save the fish that drives a billion-dollar industry. And: Same mistakes that led to collapse of Atlantic cod are being repeated with bluefin, says advocacy group (click 'See also').
The editors
The New York Times 2008-12-08 (entry)
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Large-scale agriculture, meat production coming under scrutiny as policy makers, farmers, scientists seek solutions. Trillions of farm animals generate 18 percent of emissions that raise global temperatures, UN says; meat eating expected to double between 2000 and 2050. Only 98 of 2,000-plus UN-backed emission-curbing projects are in agriculture. And: greenhouse gases by the numbers (click 'See also').
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
International Herald Tribune 2008-12-04 (entry)
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EU, in farming policy overhaul, to change distribution of
billions - 40 percent of EU budget - in subsidies to farmers. Critics
say diluted changes will skew markets further. Coming soon: Up milk
production quota; put set-aside farmland into production; reduce
payments to some farmers, landowners, including Queen. And: Questions, answers on Common Agricultural Policy (click 'See also').
By James Kanter
The New York Times 2008-11-20 (entry)
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Crop prices stall after two years soaring (click 'See also'). Farmers buy seed, plant;
price drops, crop costs more than harvest nets. Old worries - bugs,
weather - trumped by new: commodity markets, rising dollar. We'll ask
Congress for higher price supports if things don't improve, says one farmer. 'Everyone learns patience,' counters partner/father.
By David Streitfeld
The New York Times 2008-11-20 (entry)
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Panel OKs criteria for 'organic' label for farmed fish, pleasing producers but angering environment, consumer advocates. They question rule allowing up to 25 percent of wild fish as feed (organic meats require 100 percent organic food) and note that open-net pens allow fish waste, disease to pollute ocean. And: One-third of world's fish catch - mostly anchovies, menhaden, sardines - is fed to animals but should feed people, scientists say (click 'See also').
By Juliet Eilperin and Jane Black
The Washington Post 2008-11-20 (entry)
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In effort to cut dependence on U.S. imports, South Korean firm plans million-acre corn field on land just leased for 99 years in Madagascar. Daewoo hopes to harvest five million tons of corn annually by 2023. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, seeking similar agricultural investments in Africa or Asia while Angola, Ethiopia seek partnerships with countries in need.
BBC 2008-11-19 (entry)
Stephen Doyle, Zack Zavislak/Wired
Global demand for food started to outpace agricultural production around 1997. Gulf between what's wanted, what's available is widening. A second 'green revolution' on par with introduction of modern fertilizers, pesticides could close gap, according to periodical's review of biotechnology, other scientific advances.
By Thomas Hayden, Ben Paynter and Alexis Madrigal
Wired magazine 2008-10-20 (entry)
Umbrian vineyard, olive community reduces carbon footprint with cars, golf carts, bikes using batteries powered by center that stores solar-sourced electricity for up to three days. Farm owners also have invested in fleet of mini-tractors that use non-food biofuels and planted 10,000 trees as carbon sink.
By Duncan Kennedy
BBC News 2008-10-18 (entry)
With price of bread linked to that of petroleum, metal and other goods, and a billion people in extreme poverty, we must refine farming. Much of the world's best farmland in Russia, Ukraine, Africa produces nothing; poor infrastructure dooms 40 percent of world's food to rot. We need to invest in farming, make it globally desirable, productive, with tangible benefits.
By Doug Saunders
The Globe and Mail (Canada) 2008-10-25 (entry)
As farmers, ranchers age, health-care needs can push them away from agriculture for jobs that provide health insurance, study finds. Buying individual health insurance helps protect land. Farmers long for state-administered group plan, and try to hold on till Medicare. 'It's a hell of a thing to wish a good chunk of your life away (for the comfort of health care coverage),' says respondent.
By David Bennett
Delta Farm Press 2008-10-24 (entry)
We support humane treatment of animals, but it's unlikely that Proposition 2 would start that national trend. Because measure only regulates eggs produced in California and not eggs that are sold in state, it would likely bolster the market for cheaper out-of-state eggs, simply exporting caged hens' mistreatment.
The editors
Los Angeles Times 2008-09-25 (entry)
California must work toward planned, efficient agricultural sector, long-term protections for land and water resources, and production of more high-valued crops grown with efficient irrigation systems. State must support farmers by implementing policies, incentives that support water conservation and efficiency.
By Heather Cooley and Juliet Christian-Smith
San Francisco Chronicle 2008-09-08 (entry)
Steady, heavy rains increase woes of Florida's $9 billion citrus industry; juice prices go up at the supermarket. Soggy trees vulnerable to spread of citrus canker, which causes premature fruit drop. Another threat is invasive sap-sucking insect, already detected in all 32 citrus-producing counties in Florida, plus Louisiana and Texas.
By Hector Florin
Time magazine 2008-08-28 (entry)
Farm country economy buoyed by food price hikes and low interest rates - land prices have doubled in three years and sales of pickup trucks and farm equipment are booming - despite cost increases for fertilizer and fuel. Some worry that robustness could be bubble, and remember the early '80s bust.
By Neil Irwin
The Washington Post 2008-08-20 (entry)
As agriculture, large-scale irrigation, market competition and climate change fuel 'water war,' Spain reconsiders its water policy. Farmers, who use 80 percent of the country's water and now irrigate historically arid crop of olives to boost production, are blamed for tapping up to 1.5 million illegal wells. Desalination offers some hope.
By Christine Spolar
Chicago Tribune 2008-08-18 (entry)
As horseweed, Palmer amaranth, johnsongrass and other weeds develop resistance to Monsanto's Roundup, Arkansas farmers pin hopes on Bayer CropScience LibertyLink soybeans. New soybeans will be resistant to Ignite, a potent weedkiller. And: EPA classifies active ingredient, glufosinate ammonium, as 'persistent' and 'mobile' (click 'See also').
By David Bennett
Delta Farm Press 2008-08-13 (entry)
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It's a good time to start a small farm, based on organic farming popularity, growing awareness of food sources, say entrepreneurs, experts. Profit requires time, niche product such as truffles or natural meats; good target is annual sales of less than $10,000, so don't quit the day job.
By Brent Bowers
The New York Times 2008-08-06 (entry)
Genetic engineering comes to Honduras corn fields, and country distributes seed, fertilizer to supplement pricey imported corn, rice. And: Transformation from farmer to agricultural entrepreneur in Honduras and other developing countries begins with seeds, fertilizer but requires decent roads, irrigation and help in using technology (click 'See also').
By Dan Charles
National Public Radio/Morning Edition 2008-08-07 (entry)
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Cool, wet weather delays peak harvest, breeds soil fungus, bloats berries and melons and proves treacherous for farm equipment - but on bright side, irrigation not required. Farmers counsel patience and explain to customers the unpredictability of agriculture.
By Jenna Johnson
The Washington Post 2008-07-25 (entry)
USDA decision expected soon on whether millions of acres it rents from farmers to maintain soil, wildlife habitat, grasslands, trees, wetlands and buffer areas along streams and rivers can be plowed for corn crop without penalty. Amid rising food prices, last year's corn crop was used for ethanol; Congress has mandated increased ethanol use this year.
By Joel Achenbach
The Washington Post 2008-07-11 (entry)
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With tuberculosis in cattle on the rise, UK farmers want badger population culled, but controversy continues over whether reducing germ-carrying population will reduce incidence of disease (click 'See also'). In 2007, 28,000 cattle were slaughtered because of TB; number likely to reach 40,000 this year.
By James Meikle
The Guardian (UK) 2008-07-05 (entry)
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As fresh tomato market withers, losses grow along with food industry's anger at government's inability to pinpoint salmonella cause in sprawling food chain. Problems also increase tension between Florida and Mexico, whose growing seasons overlap. Meanwhile, gardeners wait for their own harvests.
By Jane Zhang, Julie Jargon and A.J. Miranda
The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2008-07-01 (entry)
Students tend, sell crops, learn media relations and other modern-day farming skills at California high school's agricultural academy. Also on display: another side of agriculture, with potential for jobs in food safety, technology. Coordinator hopes to grow program and involve more students, particularly girls (click 'See also').
By Eric Anderson
Watsonville Register-Pajaronian (CA) 2008-05-28 (entry)
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Four million acres of cropland likely damaged by floods; hog farmers brace for even higher feed prices. Meat producers call for rollback on ethanol mandates, which they say soaks up the corn supply and pushes prices up. As waters rise, some hogs killed after swimming to levee because officials thought hooves would break the plastic on sandbags and cause more flooding.
By Ilan Brat and Joe Barrett
The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2008-06-20 (entry)
Investors bet on the farm, the fertilizer, the grain elevators and the shipping equipment - 'owning structure.' One, in Africa, plans to consolidate small plots and to provide clinics, schools for farm laborers. But critics worry that these new farmland owners lack passion for work. And: Water infrastructure a popular investment, too (click 'See also').
By Diana B. Henriques
The New York Times 2008-06-05 (entry)
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In midwest, corn crop drenched in floodwaters, rains delay planting of 17 million acres of soybean fields and cool temperatures hamper growth of what's there. Farmers were counting on big corn and soybean crops to meet the world's demand for grains for food and feedstocks to produce biofuels.
By Christine Stebbins
Reuters 2008-06-13 (entry)
California farmers, already weary from concerns with drought, pests, heat and cold, fall victim to thieves who steal diesel fuel to sell to struggling truckers. Heists of fuel follow those of copper in irrigation systems.
By Paul Vercammen
CNN 2008-06-05 (entry)
As New Zealand works toward carbon-neutral goal, its farmers seethe at proposal to make them the world's first forced to pay if they exceed government-imposed limits on greenhouse gases. Livestock-generated methane and more potent nitrous oxide make up about half the greenhouse gases that New Zealand adds to Earth's air.
By Paul Watson
Los Angeles Times 2008-06-07 (entry)
Political standoff over 12 million mostly Mexican illegal immigrants, high land prices and water shortages move American companies to set up farming on more than 45,000 acres of land in three Mexican states, employing about 11,000. But cheaper labor and diesel fuel often are offset by lower productivity and high training costs, especially in food safety.
By Jessica Bernstein-Wax
The Associated Press; Fox News 2008-05-27 (entry)
Overhauling seafood industry begins with asking questions and expecting more from market fishmongers and restaurant chefs, says author of new fish book. More solutions: Remove subsidies for fuel and for ships; stop high-seas trawling; create green, no-fish reserves. Meanwhile, canned sardines, mackerel, herring and fresh mussels are ethical dinner choices; skip imported farmed seafood, shrimp and domestic farmed salmon.
By Nicole Pasulka
Salon.com 2008-04-29 (entry)
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World needs more food, but production is mostly dominated by small-scale farmers who can't react quickly. They, and their cooperatives, often lack cash to expand, and aren't sure they want to grow. When US farms consolidated 20 years ago, communities suffered; the farms that survived mostly were larger, more productive, and able to afford technology that increases yields.
By Patrick Barta
The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2008-05-08 (entry)
West Coast ocean salmon fishery declared disaster, the first step in allowing those affected in Washington, Oregon and California to apply for federal disaster assistance. A federal fishery has been declared for West Coast salmon two years out of three. West Coast delegation hoped to attach a disaster aid measure to the Iraq war supplemental appropriation bill.
By Jeff Barnard
The Associated Press; The Seattle Times 2008-05-01 (entry)
Spot shortages, high prices of fertilizer threaten gains made against malnutrition and hunger and push farmers to reconsider old-fashioned manure. Fertilizer, made with fossil fuels, increases crop yields but excess leaches into streams and groundwater, causing pollution and algae-choked 'dead zones' in Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay and 400 other sites, worldwide.
By Keith Bradsher and Andrew Martin
The New York Times 2008-04-30 (entry)
Potato could help solve world hunger, advocates say. The tuber, native to Peru and in 5,000 varieties, can be grown in almost any climate, requires little water, matures quickly, has higher yields than wheat or rice and contains protein and calcium. Peru pushes bakers to use potato flour instead of wheat version; school children, prisoners and the military are eating potato bread. China is top potato producer.
By Terry Wade
Reuters 2008-04-15 (entry)
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Grass-fed beef exports to North Asia from New Zealand benefit from mad cow fears linked to U.S. beef, but South Korea-U.S. trade accord may put U.S. beef back on the table. 'Third-millennium' issues for Kiwi beef emerging, including traceability, disease-free status, fair trade, animal welfare, sustainable production methods, and food miles.
By Owen Hembry
The New Zealand Herald 2008-03-31 (entry)
As soaring corn prices push food costs up, economists question whether ethanol subsidies will continue, and potential problems if they don't. They point to pricey farmland and record farm business debt and see parallels to agriculture buildup before '80s crash. That downturn forced thousands of farmers to sell; nearly 300 agricultural banks failed.
By David Pitt and Henry C. Jackson
The Associated Press; Chicago Tribune 2008-04-20 (entry)
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Fatal wheat fungus, Ug99, spreads from Africa to Iran. Three-day wind in 2007 may have carried spores to India and Pakistan as well, where 20 percent of world's wheat is grown and one billion depend on grain for food. In response, Monsanto, Syngenta promote genetically modified wheat seed, said to resist to Ug99, and want ban on GM wheat lifted.
By F. William Engdahl
Asia Times 2008-04-04 (entry)
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Following lead of nearly a dozen other states, Indiana launches website that links buyers - from chefs to baby-food makers to locavores - to more than 150 nearby farmers and agricultural businesses. Site goals include strengthening local economies and providing transparency of food supply. To explore the site, click 'See also.'
By Shari Rudavsky
The Indianopolis Star 2008-04-01 (entry)
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Farmers plan more soybean and wheat at the expense of corn, early USDA forecast shows. With nitrogen fertilizer at $900-plus a ton, soybeans, which produce their own nitrogen, are less expensive to grow than corn. Farmers who planted corn may rotate crops to prevent diseases, pests. Durum wheat acres will rise 22 percent. High-protein spring and durum wheat are used to make bread and pasta.
By Tony C. Dreibus and Jeff Wilson
Bloomberg 2008-03-31 (entry)
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Diversified organic family farm is renegade in windswept South Dakota, the 'lunatic fringe of the Corn Belt,' where industrial agriculture prevails. Expert says this is model for future, because it works on improbable - and ideal - farmland: 'Pay farmers to reduce synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Pay them to enhance wildlife, diversity their crops, build soil and restore wetlands. Pay them to develop local markets for their products, especially fresh food.'
By Sam Hurst
Gourmet magazine 2008-04-01 (entry)
Poultry, beef and pork producers await USDA's forecast of farmers' intended crops. They hope for all-corn scenario, which could help bring costs of feed - up to three-quarters of their costs - lower. Ethanol market, however, has voracious demand for corn, and was factor in price surge. Last year, American farmers grew record 13.1 billion bushels.
By Henry C. Jackson
The Associated Press; USA Today 2008-03-29 (entry)
After largest collapse of Pacific salmon stocks in 40 years, fishing council considers closing waters from Oregon to Mexico. More water from Sacramento River, site of many salmon runs, has been diverted for farms and cities. Costs to fishermen and their communities estimated in millions of dollars.
By Felicity Barringer
The New York Times 2008-03-13 (entry)
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Sugar beet lobbyist says farmers will plant Monsanto's genetically modified sugar beets as planned, despite lawsuit filed by environmental groups that say USDA failed to properly evaluate safety risks (click 'See also'). A similar argument regarding Roundup Ready alfalfa resulted in halt to seed sales, but lobbyist says that GMO crops couldn't contaminate organic version, and that processing beets to sugar removes 'virtually all' protein and DNA.
By Dan Murphy
Cattle Network; AgNetwork.com 2008-03-03 (entry)
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Australian farmers worry that worldwide shortage of weedkiller could extend through planting season, which could lower crop yields. Shortage is a harbinger, says anti-biotech group spokesman. He says that new herbicide-resistant crops will depend on brand-name glyphosate poison, and farmers will be at mercy of Monsanto and Bayer, chemical and seed producers.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2008-02-18 (entry)
Global demand, manufacturing costs and tightening controls in China push prices up for Roundup and other weedkillers. Monsanto also credits higher sales of its seeds, which are genetically modified to tolerate its poison. Biotech giant has raised Roundup prices from $1 to $4 per acre "to slow down the demand" and to ensure supply for farmers growing its GMO crops.
By Jason Vance
California Farmer 2008-02-28 (entry)
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Farmers, previously expected to plant wheat and soybeans to gain ground after corn planting frenzy of last spring, may reconsider after news that nation's corn and wheat stockpiles will be at historic lows by summer's end.
By Charles Abbott
Reuters; Guardian Unlimited (UK) 2008-01-11 (entry)
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Corn biofuels craze drives changes in conventional cattle farming, affecting everything from prices for grain and shift to distillers' grain for feed, to pasture movement from Texas area to Northern Plains, to decline in profits and competition from pork at the supermarket.
Cattle Network 2008-01-02 (entry)
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As government moves toward OK of meat and milk sales from cloned animals, biotech companies prepare to introduce voluntary clone tracking system that depends on all players - from ranchers to supermarkets. But critics worry that actual clones are too valuable to eat, but exist only to breed. Offspring of clones wouldn't be tracked.
By Jonathan D. Rockoff
The Baltimore Sun 2007-12-19 (entry)
With no clear source of 2006 e.coli outbreak in spinach, California's leafy greens farmers desperately seek guidance on providing clean produce. They are caught between food safety concerns and environmental sensitivity. Do they improve washing regimen? Erect barriers and destroy wildlife habitat? Or remove themselves from nearby cattle feedlots?
By Carl Nagin
California Coast & Ocean; San Francisco Chronicle 2007-08-23 (entry)
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To help federally subsidized soybean farmers plant more crops, two Mississippi senators renew hard lobbying for $200 million project that would drain 200,000 acres of Delta wetlands, hardwood forests and wildlife habitat. The daft project, first proposed in 1941, should be killed by the Bush administration.
The editors
The New York Times 2007-11-06 (entry)
House overrides Bush veto of $23 billion bill funding nearly 900 new water projects, including improving Depression-era locks and dams that impede agricultural freight traffic on the upper Mississippi River.
By Christopher Doering
Reuters 2007-11-06 (entry)
As voting in Mississippi nears, editors say that future of agriculture, a $6 billion segment of state's economy, must expand past trees and row crops to organic vegetables and high-end organic dairy, and also should include in-state processing.
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 2007-10-21 (entry)
Bush picks Edward Schafer, a former governor of North Dakota and fan of smaller government, as new secretary of agriculture. If Senate confirms appointment, Schafer will have input on $288 billion farm/food bill and oversight of $90 billion a year in spending on programs including crop supports, food stamps and nutrition.
By David Stout
The New York Times 2007-10-31 (entry)
Southeastern drought produced stunted pumpkins, and too much rain in Illinois, the country's largest producer, turned fields into ponds and would-be Jack-o-Lanterns into mush; Kentucky, New Mexico and Texas shipped their extras.
By Anthony Brooks
National Public Radio 2007-10-30 (entry)
In 100-year-old crop lands used for research, Illinois scientists found that 50 years of massive nitrogen fertilization reduced corn yields and that level of organic carbon in the soil was greatly diminished, which leads to greater drought vulnerability. Conclusion? Lower doses of fertilizer often are better for crops, soil, water and air.
By Debra Levey Larson
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2007-10-29 (entry)
Ozone from burning of fossil fuels stands to damage crops, possibly reducing food production by 10 percent this century, MIT study shows. The study looked at temperature, carbon dioxide, and ozone, all of which are rising, and found that the net effect is especially harmful to heavily fertilized plants.
By Nancy Stauffer
MIT Energy Initiative 2007-10-26 (entry)
If we can't afford to buy all organic foods for our families, there are a few foods that experts believe are more important than others: milk, potatoes, peanut butter, ketchup, apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, red raspberries, spinach and strawberries.
By Phuong Cat Le
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) 2007-10-24 (entry)
As "exceptional drought" deepens its hold on the Southeastern United States, Atlanta's water reserves shrink to only 90 days and no solution is apparent; farmers harvest parched crops and sell off cattle they can't afford to feed.
By Greg Bluestein
The Associated Press; Tribune News Services 2007-10-20 (entry)
Erythrina gall wasp, an accidental import from Africa, devastates groves of wiliwili trees used as wind shields for crops in Hawaii; desperate officials consider importing a Tanzanian wasp they hope might prey on it, but after mongoose import eschewed pesky rats for native birds, others are wary.
By Tomas Alex Tizon
Los Angeles Times 2007-10-15 (entry)
As population explodes and planet heats, water for drinking and crop irrigation is diminishing, forcing extra energy use to reach remote supply; already, China, India, Africa and American West reserves are drying up, setting stage for people-versus agriculture battles.
By Jon Gertner
The New York Times 2007-10-21 (entry)
Though many in sub-Saharan Africa depend on farming for their living, new study shows that World Bank has long neglected support for region and its most important client; poverty expert likens criticism to saying that Coca-Cola is bad at making soft drinks.
By Celia W. Dugger
The New York Times 2007-10-15 (entry)
Pineapple farms paired with certified organic practices and local exporters are becoming the ticket out of poverty for rural Ugandans; country's export share of organic products, including passionfruit, dried mangoes, vanilla and sesame, now leads Africa.
By Evelyn Lirri
Daily Monitor (Uganda) 2007-05-28 (entry)
Uganda's robust coffee market, mostly the domain of family businesses, might be approaching bubble phase, considering damage from coffee wilt, advanced age of trees, and poorly managed soils.
By Tucungwirwe Rwamutega
Daily Monitor (Uganda) 2007-10-02 (entry)
Ethanol craze looms dangerously large for fish and crabs in Chesapeake, since larger acreage planted in nitrogen-needy corn means more fertilizer runoff into water, which spawns growth of oxygen-depriving algae, study reports.
The Associated Press; Business Week 2007-08-27 (entry)
Long the designated caretakers of the poor and disenfranchised, religious communities find their interests growing toward farming and food production for reasons including humane treatment of animals, fair wages to workers and stewardship of the Earth.
By Joan Nathan
The New York Times 2007-08-22 (entry)
Like prima donnas, heirloom tomatoes wait an extra week to ripen, but these voluptuous misfits with the tawdry, nightclub-act names - Cherokee Purple, Banana Legs, Green Zebra, Hillbilly, Black Russian - have it in their power to hold us all in thrall for a good part of the summer.
By Tim Stark
Washington Post 2007-08-15 (entry)
Seeking the perfect tomato means eschewing perfectly formed orbs in favor of a weedy tangle of vines in which antique, thin-skinned heirloom treasures are hidden; this obsession is an art in the Merrimack Valley, where growers proliferate.
By Kristi Ceccarossi and Darry Madden
The Hippo (NH) 2007-08-23 (entry)
Genetically modified sugar beet seed designed to resist Monsanto herbicide is gaining popularity among growers and processors, including American Crystal Sugar Co.; Wyoming Sugar Co., and Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative; farmers must pay $60 premium per acre, and GMO sugar won't carry special label.
Associated Press; CNN 2007-08-22 (entry)
As deaths mount from India's monsoons, agricultural damage increases as well; vast cornfields, mostly in eastern area, were deluged; officials say it's too early to tell extent of loss; rice crop less affected.
By Mayank Bhardwaj
Reuters 0000-00-00 (entry)
Oklahoma wheat seed crop damaged by untimely rains, which likely will force farmers to pay premium for next season's planting, but even distant sources are running low on supply and quality because of increased demand.
By Veronica Scoggin
The Enid News (OK) 2007-08-20 (entry)
Amber waves of wheat, once vital to Vermont's economy (and even part of the state seal), may return to the state fields, as bakers and locavores seek nearby sources and crops specialist uses USDA grant to grow three heirloom varieties - Surprise, Champlain and Defiance.
By Mel Huff
The Times Argus (VT) 2007-08-13 (entry)
Bane and benefit both, blackberries cover the Oregon landscape with a thorny thicket but are high in antioxidants, show promise in tumor reduction, are a high cash crop, a primary food source for honeybees and other pollinators - and they're tasty as well.
By Joe Mosley
The Register-Guard (OR) 2007-08-11 (entry)
Growers, now hiring thousands of seasonal workers for peak harvest months, cry foul over crackdown on illegal immigrants, declaring it's an effort of government to look good at the expense of the people with the hardest and lowest paid jobs.
By Juliana Barbassa
Associated Press; Forbes.com 2007-08-16 (entry)
Three books, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life," "Plenty: One Man, One Woman and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally," and "Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future," explore the omnivore's dilemma, but only Bill McKibben, in "Deep Economy," looks at global problem.
By Laird Harrison
The News & Observer (NC) 2007-08-19 (entry)
Bumper crop of corn leaves farmers struggling for storage; existing facilities have more business than they can handle, and manufacturers of silos and storage equipment are stepping up production; some farmers may resort to old schoolhouses, airport hangars, caves, or even tarp-covered piles on the ground.
By Shelly Banjo
Wall Street Journal; Pantagraph.com (IL) 2007-08-18 (entry)
See also
After scramble to plant more acreage in corn and cash in on ethanol craze, deepening drought and scorching temperatures shrivel farmers' dreams of record corn harvest in South and Southeastern states.
By Jim Nesbitt
The Sun-News (SC); McClatchy Newspapers 0000-00-00 (entry)
Though customers spend more than $14 billion a year on organics and depend on USDA label even for imports, USDA infrastructure, with nine staffers and a $1.5 million budget, languishes; other departments spend about $28 million a year on organic research, data collection and farmer assistance, but the department spent $37 million subsidizing farmers who grew dry peas, an $83 million crop, in 2005.
By Andrew Martin
The New York Times (may require subscription) 0000-00-00 (entry)
Judging from plastic bottles clogging the landfills and SUVs clogging the highways, the news that we're killing ourselves and our world hasn't kicked in, so that makes "The 11th Hour," an unnerving, surprisingly affecting documentary, essential viewing.
By Manohla Dargis
The New York Times 2007-08-17 (entry)
Bush administration deserves credit for pushing immigration reform, but enforcement-only plan for handling illegal immigrants could create potentially devastating consequences for farmers at harvest season.
The editors
Denver Post 2007-08-14 (entry)
Bush administration's plan for fines, sanctions against growers whose workers have improper documentation could be devastating to the coming fall harvest, and could encourage an underground economy, California farmers say.
By Ashley Gebb
Appeal-Democrat (CA) 2007-08-14 (entry)
In search of past glory, team of top-level scientists from Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station aim for the return of the tasty tomato, one that is nirvana with salt on a piece of crusty bread, one that isn't necessarily a good keeper.
By Dianna Marder
Philadelphia Inquirer 2007-08-14 (entry)
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CARE turns down $45 million in food aid from U.S., citing practice of selling tons of often heavily subsidized American farm products in African countries that compete with the crops of local farmers; other charities disagree.
By Celia W. Dugger
The New York Times (may require subscription) (entry)
Religious groups mobilize around the farm/food bill, speaking of justice and the urgent need to fix broken food system, from nutrition programs and energy policy to farmers and the wellbeing of the people they feed.
By Joe Orso
La Crosse Tribune; Associated Press, Wisconsin State Journal 0000-00-00 (entry)
Despite higher profits and rising demand for organic corn and soybeans, few farmers switching over, forcing food companies to import organic soybeans from China and pay nearly double what they paid for organic corn last fall.
By Paula Lavigne
Des Moines Register 2007-08-12 (entry)
Taking cue from Cuba, Vancouver gardener and agricultural scientist sows seeds of what he hopes will be an urban gardening movement that provides a locally grown alternative to modern and usually distant agribusiness.
By Nicholas Read
Vancouver Sun 2007-08-13 (entry)
Overfishing, poaching and pollution have depleted worldwide fish stocks to 10 percent of normal; for every pound of shrimp harvested, 10 pounds are discarded, along with turtles and dolphins, conservationists report.
By Eviana Hartman
Washington Post (entry)
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To irrigate crops, farmers have pumped billions of gallons annually from the Ogallala Aquifer, a lake under parts of Great Plains states, but now, water table has dropped steeply, forcing new "dryland" methods of farming for conservation.
By Debbie Elliott
National Public Radio (entry)
"The Zen of Fish," and "The Sushi Economy," offer lessons in how global economy works, dangers of over-fishing and how it thrives on demand, and why trout might not be the best choice for eating raw (think tapeworms).
By Stuart Biggs
bloomberg.com 2007-08-08 (entry)
Ethanol craze blamed for high prices across the supermarket, but other factors include surge in global food demand, high oil prices, uncooperative weather, and the slide of the dollar against other world currencies.
By Barrett Sheridan
Newsweek magazine (entry)
Community-supported agriculture provides cash for farmers when they need it for seeds and equipment in the early spring, and fresh produce - from lettuce to pumpkins - for participants throughout the growing season.
By Peggy Grodinsky
Houston Chronicle (entry)
In unusual and win-win partnership between county and charity, inmates farm to benefit Milawaukee's poor, who eat asparagus, corn, cantaloupe and green beans in season, and hunger relief group runs the operation.
By Erica Perez
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (entry)
With ethanol craze and escalating corn prices taking all the attention, worldwide drought has gone almost unnoticed, but it is driving wheat prices up; breadmakers are paying more for flour and weak dollar makes U.S. wheat attractive.
By Jeff Cox
CNNMoney.com (entry)
Bush administration's buy-local request for emergency food aid could help Kenyans, some of the world's poorest people, advocates say, but U.S. is mired in domestic farm subsidies and lobbies of shipping interests; aid for agricultural projects lags as well.
By Celia W. Dugger
The New York times (may require subscription) (entry)
New interactive map allows users to tract proliferation of factory farms by state and county - even number of animals - and it raises questions of whether we pursue the logic of industrialism to its limits, and how badly will it harm the landscape, the people who live in it and democracy itself?
The editors
The New York Times (may require subscription) (entry)
See also
Looking to meet anti trans fat market demands, Spanish food giant Grupo Sos plans to plant olive trees in Lone Star State, where climate is similar to southern Spain; the firm follows a handful of Texas growers with 75,000 trees growing - and harvest plans this fall.
By Jenalia Moreno
Houson Chronicle (entry)
In northeastern Brazil, farmers use simple technologies and great persistence to harvest, pick, raise and slaughter, despite high temperatures, little rain and unfertile soil; they begin with a mud-patch, to hold rainwater to create oases of production.
By Isaura Daniel; translated by Mark Ament
Brazil-Arab News Agency (entry)
Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Läckeby Water Group join other food, drink producers in UN agreement to use water more efficiently; lack of access to clean water and sanitation undermines humanitarian, social, environmental, and economic goals.
By Ahmed ElAmin
foodproductiondaily.com (entry)
Find hemp seed, hemp oil, hemp butter, hemp bread, and hemp bars at the natural foods store, but it's all imported; hemp farming is banned in the U.S. because the plant is a version of the cannabis plant and contains low levels of the active ingredient in marijuana.
By Ann Woolner
Bloomberg News (entry)
Current agricultural policies distort food costs, waste billions of taxpayer dollars, and subsidize a handful of large farming operations that raise a few selected crops - and subvert subsistence farmers across the globe by dumping cheap surplus goods at below-market prices.
By Senator Richard Lugar and Representative Ron Kind
The Modesto Bee (CA) 2007-07-15 (entry)
On the 25th anniversary of its release, Victor Schonfeld recalls the events that led to his creation of "The Animals Film," a British documentary using evocative, exploratory cinematography techniques to illuminate factory farming.
By Victor Schonfeld
The Guardian (UK) 2007-07-05 (entry)
Despite it's winery-sponsored printing, Robert Joseph's, "Wine Travel Guide to the World" is a tantalizing and beautifully photographed armchair tour that tempts the reader into checking online ticket prices.
By Susan Reigler
The Courier-Journal (KY) (entry)
It's a $70 billion annual bill, and before, only agribusiness cared, but a tsunami of activists now believes that its subsidies for corn and soy encourage diet-related disease and climate change; instead, they advocate money for sustainable and organic food production, agricultural conservation and for a priority on fresh, local fruits and vegetables.
By Carol Ness
San Francisco Chronicle (entry)
Despite activists' efforts to bamboozle public, price-conscious customers appear happy buying milk containing synthetic hormone, and squeezing more milk from cows via drugs saves natural resources, reduces corn prices, greenhouse gas emissions and manure production; in a more rational world, customers would choose milk so labeled.
By Henry I. Miller
The New York Times (may require subscription) 2007-06-29 (entry)
