As Feed Prices Climb, Minicows Moove In

(NEWSER) - Feeding cows parts of corn plants that farmers currently discard could eventually lead to American energy independence, Wired reports. An ammonia treatment applied to corn “stover” could make it palatable to cattle, freeing up more land for the production of ethanol, a Michigan State researcher says. That could, in turn, protect untouched land from cultivation for biofuels. More»

Investigators target 'bio security' at labs making vaccine

(NEWSER) - British officials are pursuing the possibility that latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease could be the result of sabotage, the Times reports. They've ruled out water leaks spreading the virus from a research lab to nearby farms,and have concluded that "release by human movement must be considered a real possibility," said a report prepared for Gordon Brown. More»

New suspicions that virus may have spread in floodwaters

(NEWSER) - England is culling a second herd of cattle feared to have foot-and-mouth disease. The animals were showing symptoms on an unidentified farm within a restricted zone around the area southwest of London where the first outbreak occurred. Investigators were considering the possibility that a flood in July may have spread the virus. More»

Vaccine may have leaked and spread to nearby farm

(NEWSER) - An English research lab is the likely source of a recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease, the Guardian reports. British government officials believe a batch of experimental vaccine leaked and spread to a nearby farm. Scientists were tipped to the possible leak by the fact that the strain of the virus is not one that occurs naturally, but is a vaccine strain. More»

Farmers are turning to leftover sweets as biofuel drives up the price of corn

(NEWSER) - The biofuel craze has doubled the price of corn in just a few years, forcing farmers from Pennsylvania to California find alternatives to feed their livestock. What they're coming up with is cookies, candy bars, cheese curls, breakfast cereal and french fries, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»