Ideal growing weather wipes out flood fears
New York Times Aug 13, 08 8:19 CDT
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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.
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Farmers nationwide fight feathers with feathers
Associated Press Aug 12, 08 1:38 PM CDT
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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 their way though fruit, grain, and flowers—munching that cost $944 million in damages last year.
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21st century-style 'sharecropping' takes root nationwide
New York Times Jul 10, 08 3:45 CDT
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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 100 in the early '90s to almost 1,500 today.
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Feds eye other produce as salmonella source
Los Angeles Times Jul 2, 08 3:13 PM CDT
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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 other produce might be.
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Bad weather in US, Australia threatens harvests amid shortages
New York Times Jun 10, 08 7:14 CDT
(Newser)
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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 year than last, but drenched fields are preventing good results. “The anxiety level is increasing,” says a grains analyst.
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Fears that methane curb could ruin farms
Los Angeles Times Jun 8, 08 5:32 CDT
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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 particular problem as the world faces a food crisis.
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Irrigation systems are also caches of diesel fuel
CNN Jun 6, 08 2:33 PM CDT
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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 Kern County, California, alone the sheriff estimates that $300,000 worth of diesel was stolen in the past 3 months.
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Ban urges global response to avert
mass starvation
Washington Post Jun 2, 08 8:44 CDT
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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 countries to phase out subsidies for food-based biofuels, such as ethanol, which have added to the spike in food costs.
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Costs up 65% percent, drawing calls for inquiries by US, UN
Wall Street Journal May 27, 08 1:09 PM CDT
(Newser)
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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 that can leave them exempt from antitrust laws.
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Normally 'untouchable' price supports at risk
in Congress
Los Angeles Times May 2, 08 2:32 PM CDT
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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 House wants to cut off payments to farmers who earn $500,000 or more. Farm lobbyists are trying to double that.
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Wheat exports critically low as farmers flee parched land
BBC May 2, 08 8:33 CDT
(Newser)
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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 dropped by a third over the last 20 years.
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Switch to corn-based fuel links grain and energy prices
Washington Post Apr 30, 08 2:28 PM CDT
(Newser)
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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 economy,” one analyst tells the Washington Post . “Now they're beginning to fuse.”
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Skyrocketing prices bring speculators to grocery stores
Washington Times Apr 23, 08 1:24 PM CDT
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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 want a lack of oversight and regulation to lead to a similar crisis in rural America."
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