Will timely weather forecasts alter farming practices?
An experiment in Rwanda is testing if farming communities will change their agricultural practice to cope with climate change if the government gives them timely weather forecasts, says the site SciDev.Net.
Young, urban-born and working on the land
"Being a farmer was the most radical vocation I could choose," says a Columbia graduate now running a sheep and garlic farm in Vermont and quoted in "The New Farmers" in Orion magazine.
Agriculture’s top hope for lame duck – revival of tax breaks
Congress is fairly likely during its post-election session to revive a package of tax incentives that expired on Jan 1, said the leaders of the two largest U.S. farm groups. The package includes the $1 a gallon tax credit for biodiesel, tax credits for wind and solar power, and generous write-offs for purchases of equipment and other assets. Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, told reporters the so-called tax extenders package was...
Corn harvest, despite big leap, lags far behind normal pace
Corn growers harvested nearly one-fifth of the U.S. corn crop last week - around 2.9 billion bushels - last week but the harvest is far behind its usual rate, says the weekly Crop Progress report.
Documents show White House role in ouster of USDA official
An email released as part of a federal court case indicates the White House had a role in the forced resignation of USDA official Shirley Sherrod in 2010, says the Associated Press.
Less idle land, more land for growing crops
Since 2007, enrollment in the long-term Conservation Reserve is down by 9.9 million acres; in fact, the 26.8 million acres in the reserve in 2013 was the smallest amount since 1988, writes economist David Widmar at the blog Agricultural Economic Insights.
Natural diet helps honey bees resist pesticides
Honey bees show more resistance to pesticides if they eat a natural diet of pollen than artificial diets such as soy protein, say researchers at Penn State University.
GMO labeling crops up in the South
Legislation "to regulate genetically modified crops at the local and state level" are beginning to appear in agriculture-friendly Southern states, says Delta Farm Press.
A dozen elections with food and agriculture policy impact
A dozen elections today may influence food and agriculture policy nationally, They range from the Kansas race that could determine the next chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee to referendums on soda taxes and GMO labeling.
Ernst leads in Iowa for Senate, Kansas is neck-and-neck race
Republican Joni Ernst led Democrat Bruce Braley by 7 points, 51-44, in the latest Iowa Poll of the Des Moines Register. It was Ernst's largest lead in any poll in a month.
Purdue forestry farm to carry name of former US senator
Purdue will re-name its 175-acre forestry farm in honor of long-time Indiana Sen Richard Lugar, the university announced. A former chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Foreign Relations committee, Lugar was senator for 36 years until...
US appeals court rejects re-hearing of challenge to COOL
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia refused to re-hear a meatpacker lawsuit challenging USDA's country-of-origin meat-labeling rules, said Feedstuffs.
Public role fades in crop and livestock breeding programs
The "slow atrophy of public funding" for plant-breeding programs "means that farmers have been left with fewer and fewer seed choices over the years and are ill-prepared to meet 21st Century needs," says the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
Floods follow drought, threaten food crisis in Somalia
Parts of southern Somalia are being hit with floods, "aggravating the already alarming food security situation" cause for a lackluster rainy season, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Climate change “to undermine food security” – UN panel
A UN-backed panel of experts, the International Panel on Climate Change, says climate change "is projected to undermine food security" from mid-century and beyond.
Two words for ethanol lawsuit – distribution capacity
Conventional wisdom says EPA will release the overdue 2014 ethanol mandate after Tuesday's midterm elections and lawsuits will follow, no matter what target is set for ethanol's share of the gasoline market.
Huge world corn and wheat stocks despite record usage
Thanks to a second year of bumper crops, the world is headed for mammoth inventories of corn, wheat and soybeans, says the International Grains Council in London.
Rampant fungus in salamanders raises biosecurity issues
Scientists say a fungus that has devastated salamanders in Europe could easily spread to the United States, said the New York Times, quoting researchers who called for stricter biosecurity rules.
Are older farmers a sign of multi-generational operations?
One of the most-reported statistics about American agriculture is the rising average age of farmers - 58.3 years in the 2012 Census of Agriculture, an increase of 1.2 years from the 2007 census, writes economist David Widmar at the blog Agricultural Economic Insights.
Oceana urges seafood traceability to thwart mislabeling
In a spot check, the conservation group Oceana found 30 percent of the 143 shrimp products that it tested were misrepresented. The group purchased the items from 111 grocery stores and restaurants in four regions.