Glut of Heifers Enter Milk-Flooded Dairy Industry

Profits set to jump 28%, cross $100B mark

(NEWSER) - The rest of us might be bracing for the worst, but US farmers are having a banner year. With prices soaring for crops, farmland, and livestock, farmers are set to score profits of $100.9 billion, a 28% jump, the AP reports. That's the first time the figure has topped the $100 billion mark, and it's joined by two other records: Farms are expected to have more than $100 billion in cash available to cover bills, and crop sales are likely to pass $200 billion. "We're just experiencing the best of times," says an agricultural economist. "It's a story to tell." And due to demand in China, India, and other developing countries for US agricultural exports, some experts are calling this the "new normal." More»

Roundup's strangehold falters in face of new threats

(NEWSER) - New breeds of “superweeds” are creeping across the Farm Belt, and shaking up the weedkiller and seed industries in the process. The long-dominant Roundup can't deal with immune invaders like pigweed, horseweed, and Johnsgrass, which has given rival chemical companies a chance to bring back old herbicides that Roundup long ago pushed out of the market, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

USDA says small farms are becoming more popular even as large farms grow

(AP) - Most evenings, Gary Mithoefer can be found at the end of a long gravel driveway off a busy highway, tending two garden plots filled with white sweet potatoes, squash, cabbages, and a dozen other vegetables still thriving in early fall. The 62-year-old, who gardens after his workday ends at his state highway job, is one of a growing number of Americans rolling up their sleeves and digging into the dirt to raise crops or livestock on a small scale. More»

800,000 gallons in Belgian field after recession takes big toll

(NEWSER) - European farmers today dumped 800,000 gallons of milk in a Belgian field, AFP reports, in a protest against a dramatic dive in prices. The group behind the scene says three French farmers committed suicide in the past week over prices, which have fallen by as much as half as the recession dampens demand. The European Commission has promised a limited aid package. More»

(NEWSER) - Matchmaking just might save the family farm, the AP reports. States such as Iowa, Virginia, and Washington have started programs pairing would-be farmers with those aiming to retire, in the hopes of beefing up independent agriculture and keeping rural areas populated. "I thought I may never get a chance like this in my life," one farmer-in-training says. "I knew there was no way I could do this on my own." More»