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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: farmer

farmer stories: 46 news summaries

1 - 20 of 46 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

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 'Hobby Farms' Cropping Up 

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

Oct 5, 09 12:18 PM CDT
(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... More »

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agriculture • farming • farms • USDA • farmer • farm • sustainability • farmers • organic farming

 Record Stash of Ancient Gold 
 Found In Farmer's Field 

Brit with metal detector uncovers 7th-century Anglo-Saxon jackpot

Sep 24, 09 2:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - The biggest stash of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver ever found has been unearthed in a farmer's field in Staffordshire, England, by an amateur treasure hunter using a metal detector. The hoard, estimated to date back to the 7th century, includes weapons, helmets, and gold coins. Archaeologists are stunned both by... More »

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archeology • treasure • farmer • Britain • gold coins

 Taliban Cut Off 
 My Nose, Ears 
 for Voting: Farmer 

Kabul hospital turned him away due to overcrowding

Aug 30, 09 7:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - An Afghan farmer who dared walk to a polling place for the presidential election 10 days ago paid a bitter price, losing his nose and both ears in a Taliban attack, the Independent reports. In the first account by a victim of election retribution, Lal Mohammed, 40, says three militants... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • farmer • Afghanistan election

OPINION


 Greedy Farmers 
 Battle Climate Bill 
 That Benefits Them 

Demand government cash to take action

Jun 26, 09 7:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Farmers are among those facing the highest risk from global warming—storms, droughts and swarms of insect pests are coming their way—yet “true to form,” they’re not interested in backing a bill to fight it without reaping even more government cash, sputters Steven Pearlstein in the... More »

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climate change • environment • global warming • cap and trade • farmer • farm • climate change legislation • regulations

Mini-Cows Help Ranchers Buck Rising Costs

Smaller cattle cheaper to raise but still deliver good meat

May 23, 09 4:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - Facing higher feed costs, ranchers aren’t having a cow—they’re merely downsizing them, the Los Angeles Times reports. Mini-cows have become the latest trend on farms around the country, because many eat less and are easier to handle, but produce 50% to 75% the rib-eyes and fillets of... More »

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Nebraska • cows • ranch • farmer • farm • feed prices

 Farmers Plucked by 
 Chicken Slump 

Foreclosures loom as chicken company cuts contracts

Feb 12, 09 11:29 AM CST
(Newser) - Hundreds of poultry farmers face foreclosures on their pricey chicken houses after poultry giant Pilgrim's Pride dropped their contracts. Some are suing in return, claiming the company encouraged them to take on hefty mortgages and vowed to keep their grandkids in business, the Wall Street Journal reports. Most farmers own... More »

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foreclosure • recession • farmer • poultry • chicken • financial crisis • Pilgrim's Pride • recession depression

Cops Bust Pot Plantation With Google Earth

Swiss farmers find they can't hide crop from satellite images

Jan 30, 09 6:52 AM CST
(Newser) - Swiss cops using Google Earth to check out the addresses of two suspects discovered a 2-acre marijuana plantation hidden in a field of corn, reports the AP. The bust led to the arrest of 16 men, suspected of selling 7 tons of marijuana and hashish during the last 4 years.... More »

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drugs • Google Earth • Switzerland • marijuana • farmer • satellite images

 Midwest Awaits
 Bumper Corn Crop

Ideal growing weather wipes out flood fears

Aug 13, 08 8:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - America's farmers are on track to deliver the second-biggest corn harvest ever despite June floods, according to the Department of Agriculture. Shortages were predicted after severe flooding swamped fields, but the Midwest has had ideal corn-growing weather since, the New York Times reports. A healthy soybean crop is also expected.... More »

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agriculture • farming • corn • crops • harvest • farmer • farm • Department of Agriculture • corn belt • soybeans

Forget Scarecrows: Falcons Keep Pesky Birds Away

Farmers nationwide fight feathers with feathers

Aug 12, 08 1:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - On the heels of new federal regulations, US farmers are deploying falcons to stop smaller fowl from destroying their crops, the AP reports. Indigenous birds of prey may be used in place of older methods like pyrotechnics, propane cannons, and straw men in overalls to keep pest birds from eating... More »

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farming • crops • farmer • birds of prey • pest control • falcon

Forget the Farmers Market: Buy the Farm

21st century-style 'sharecropping' takes root nationwide

Jul 10, 08 3:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Consumers wanting food straight from the source are buying up shares of farms in growing numbers, the New York Times reports. For a set annual fee, shareholders buy access to the land and a guaranteed share of the harvest income. The number of community-supported farms in America has mushroomed from... More »

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agriculture • organic food • farming • crops • farmer • farm

You Say Tomato, the FDA Says There's Another Culprit Here

Feds eye other produce as salmonella source

Jul 2, 08 3:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Health officials are looking into produce other than tomatoes as the source of the recent salmonella outbreak, reports the Los Angeles Times. With much of the tomato harvest wrapped up and new cases emerging, the FDA is investigating produce typically served with tomatoes, though officials refuse to say what that... More »

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FDA • produce • tomatoes • salmonella • farmer • outbreak

Poor Crops Threaten to Worsen Food Crisis

Bad weather in US, Australia threatens harvests amid shortages

Jun 10, 08 7:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - Amid fears of looming food shortages around the world, this year’s crops aren’t providing much hope, the New York Times reports. While farmers in America have been hit with too much rain, Australian farmers are battling the effects of drought. US farmers planted 4 million more acres this... More »

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weather • drought • crops • harvest • farmer • food shortage

NZ Farmers Gas About Sheep  Flatulence Pollution Law

Fears that methane curb could ruin farms

Jun 8, 08 5:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - In its quest to be the first carbon-neutral country, New Zealand is cracking down on methane emissions--and that means regulating the gas released by livestock, the Los Angeles Times reports. Farmers are worried a government proposal to fine them if their livestock exceed greenhouse-gas limits could leave many bankrupt—a... More »

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climate change • environment • cattle • greenhouse gases • global warming • livestock • New Zealand • methane • farmer • sheep

 Diesel Thieves Plague Farmers 

Irrigation systems are also caches of diesel fuel

Jun 6, 08 2:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - With oil prices stuck in triple digits, any form of gas is becoming precious booty for thieves, CNN reports. The latest targets: farmers running diesel-fueled irrigation pumps. Fuel tanks, often sitting unguarded in fields, can be a quick score of around 250 gallons in the middle of the night. In... More »

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oil • theft • thief • diesel • gas prices • farmer • oil price • farm

UN Head: Drop Policies That
Up Food Prices

Ban urges global response to avert
mass starvation

Jun 2, 08 8:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will plead with world leaders at a food summit in Rome tomorrow to suspend trade restrictions, agricultural taxes, and other price controls that have helped create the highest food prices in 30 years, reports the Washington Post. Ban will also urge the US and other... More »

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food • United Nations • agriculture • Robert Zoellick • farmer • food prices • Ban Ki-Moon

Soaring Fertilizer Prices Another Cog in Food Crisis

Costs up 65% percent, drawing calls for inquiries by US, UN

May 27, 08 1:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - Farmers worldwide are fuming over soaring fertilizer prices, the Wall Street Journal reports. Costs are 65% higher in the US than a year ago, making it difficult for farmers to boost production in response to an international food crisis. Meanwhile, fertilizer companies have reaped big profits from a cartel-based system... More »

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antitrust • fertilizer • farmer • food prices • Byron Dorgan

Food Prices May Force Cuts in Farm Subsidies

Normally 'untouchable' price supports at risk
in Congress

May 2, 08 2:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - Soaring food prices are putting pressure on Congress to withdraw some of the billions in  farm subsidies and ethanol incentives that have been considered politically untouchable for decades, the Los Angeles Times reports. With average farm income more than $89,000 this year—30% above the national average—the White... More »

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Congress • agriculture • ethanol • corn • biofuel • farmer • food prices • subsidies

 'Big Dry' Killing Aussie Farms 

Wheat exports critically low as farmers flee parched land

May 2, 08 8:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - The worst drought in a century has forced a tenth of Australian farmers off the land, reports the BBC. The "Big Dry" has led to parched farmland across the nation over the last seven years, accelerating the exodus from rural areas. The number of farming families in Australia has... More »

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Australia • farming • drought • wheat • farmer • farm • food shortage

Ethanol Guzzles 25% of US Corn; Links Food, Fuel Prices

Switch to corn-based fuel links grain and energy prices

Apr 30, 08 2:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - When Congress passed its latest energy bill four months ago, the provision to boost ethanol requirements was exceedingly popular. But now, critics are lambasting that measure, and the ethanol movement in general, for linking skyrocketing food and oil prices. “We used to have a grain economy and a fuel... More »

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agriculture • ethanol • corn • biofuel • farmer • food prices • corn shock

US Farmers Want Feds' Help on Food Crisis

Skyrocketing prices bring speculators to grocery stores

Apr 23, 08 1:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - US farmers asked for federal help yesterday in stemming a tide that has seen speculators hitting grocery stores and consumers hoarding basic foodstuffs, the Washington Times reports. "The public is all too aware of the recent credit crisis on Wall Street," a farmers-union rep said. "We don't... More »

MORE ABOUT:
biofuel • farmer • food prices • Commodity Futures Trading Commission • food industry

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