To stay ‘clean and green,’ Scotland to ban GMO crops
The government of Scotland has decided to ban the cultivation of crops that contain genetically modified organisms, said the BBC.
Cropland values sink in Corn Belt, rise in Southern Plains
Cropland in the Corn Belt is worth an average $6,840 an acre, down 2.3 percent from last year, according to the USDA's annual Land Values report.
EPA chief on “ditch the myths” tour of Missouri
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy is to visit a Rocheport, Mo, farm today and speak to the Kansas City Agribusiness Council on Thursday in defense of new clean water regulations. Farm groups loudly oppose the Waters of the United States proposal as a power grab. The EPA says the rule reflects a Supreme Court decision and does not expand its reach.
‘Breakfastarians’ drive shift to all-day breakfast menus
"The dining tribe that craves breakfast morning, noon and night" is behind the switch by companies from McDonald's to Golden Corral to experiment with all-day breakfast, says Reuters.
A genetically modified chicken that doesn’t spread bird flu
"The solution to avian flu" could be a genetically modified chicken that doesn't infect other fowl when it's hit by the deadly virus, says a National Geographic blog post.
How big is your megaphone?
The Coalition for Safe Affordable Food, the food-industry group that promotes genetically modified foods, may be running uphill with its criticism of actress Gwyneth Paltrow on social media.
World food prices lowest in nearly six years
Lower dairy and vegetable oil prices helped pull down the Food Price Index to its lowest reading since September 2009, said the FAO: "Prices for dairy commodities fell across the board, with milk powders being most affected, followed by cheese and butter."
Somewhat smaller U.S. crops but little lift for low prices
Corn and soybean growers will harvest smaller crops than projected by the government, according to a private survey of 1,300 growers, but that will mean little relief for depressed market prices.
Cattle ranchers try to work around wolves
A cattle rancher in central Washington State says he still believes his herd can co-exist with wolves despite losing a yearling Angus on state-owned grazing land, reports Capital Press.
Food industry asks FDA to allow low levels of trans fats
The Grocery Manufacturers Association petitioned the FDA to allow specific low-level uses of trans fats, formally known as partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), as a food additive.
Political diversity grows in often-conservative rural America
A political rule of thumb is that rural America is socially and fiscally conservative, so Republicans fare well in rural districts. "Voting trends in this vast area are far from monolithic," say two University of New Hampshire researchers, who say there are important pockets of Democratic strength and they are gaining population.
GMO-labeling campaign deploys star power at Capitol
The GMO food-labeling campaign brought Hollywood star power to the Capitol as a counterweight to House passage of a bill to pre-empt state labeling laws.
Largest Gulf ‘dead zone’ in 13 years due to spring rains
The "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico is the largest since 2002 and more than three times bigger than the target set by the so-called Hypoxia Task Force.
U.S. says COOL costs Canada and Mexico only $91 million
Canada loses only $43.2 million and Mexico $47.6 million from the U.S. law that requires packages of beef and pork to say where the meat was born, raised and slaughtered.
Timing of tax ‘extenders’ bill uncertain, says Senate leader
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he wants to enact a tax "extenders" bill in a timely way, but did not suggest a likely course of action during a news conference, reports Agri-Pulse.
Larger hops plantings offset drought, but yields may suffer
Despite drought in the Pacific Northwest, hops growers expect to harvest 74.5 million pounds of the flowering, climbing plant used to provide the bitter taste of beer, says KIMA-TV in Yakima. That would be a 5-percent increase in production from last year.
USDA asks sugar industry to support TPP
Agriculture Undersecretary Micheal Scuse asked the sugar industry at its summer meeting to support the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, reports DTN.
At Whitesbog, the blueberry was domesticated
Blueberries are a popular fruit grown around the world. Production has tripled in the past 10 years, says NPR in a story from Whitesbog, in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, where the blueberry was "brought in from the wild" a century ago
Early British rapeseed yields up slightly after EU neonic ban
Initial figures on Britain's rapeseed harvest show yields are slightly above the 10-year average, says the Independent. This is the first harvest since the EU banned use of neonicotinoid pesticides out of concern that they harm honeybees and other pollinating insects.
Recruiting growers to go organic as sales surge
Grocers, restaurants and other companies that use organic foods "have turned to creative strategies for wooing prospective farmers and ranchers," says the Des Moines Register.