farmer

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Farmers Souring on Genetically-Modified Seeds
 Farmers Sour on 
 Genetically Modified Seeds
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Farmers Sour on Genetically Modified Seeds

But 86% of America's farm acres are planted with biotech crops

(Newser) - Genetically-modified crops are pervasive—last year 86% of America's farm acres were planted with biotech crops—but some farmers are beginning to sour on the technology. They say that the advantages are not worth the soaring prices charged by seed giants like Monsanto: The cost of corn seed jumped 32%...

Investors Flee Wall St., Bet on the Farm

Farmland has outperformed S&P 500 since recession

(Newser) - While Wall Street fiddles and the rest of the real estate market largely fizzles, there's a new hot commodity that has investors flocking to it: Farmland, reports the LA Times. Average farm real estate prices have doubled over the last decade, unlike, say, Florida condos, and many Americans and foreigners...

Outlook Good for 'Miracle' Two-Headed Calf

Egyptian farmer says baby animal is expected to live

(Newser) - A farmer in northern Egypt says his cow has given birth to a two-headed calf that he calls a "divine miracle." Sobhy el-Ganzoury said Saturday it took two hours and much pulling to deliver the rare calf. He said the difficult birth weakened the calf's legs. The farmer...

20 Jobs That Could Kill You

Fishing, mining not for the faint of heart

(Newser) - Tunneling deep into the earth is dangerous business, as West Virginian miners were reminded this week. With that in mind, the Daily Beast takes a look at the most dangerous professions, broken down by deaths per 100,000, injuries per 100,000, and average annual salary:
  1. Fisherman: 129 deaths, 61
...

'Hobby Farms' Cropping Up
 'Hobby Farms' Cropping Up 

'Hobby Farms' Cropping Up

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

(Newser) - 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...

Record Stash of Ancient Gold Found In Farmer's Field

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

(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...

Taliban Cut Off My Nose, Ears for Voting: Farmer

Kabul hospital turned him away due to overcrowding

(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...

Greedy Farmers Battle Climate Bill That Benefits Them

Demand government cash to take action

(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...

Mini-Cows Help Ranchers Buck Rising Costs

Smaller cattle cheaper to raise but still deliver good meat

(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...

Farmers Plucked by Chicken Slump

Foreclosures loom as chicken company cuts contracts

(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...

Cops Bust Pot Plantation With Google Earth

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

(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....

Midwest Awaits Bumper Corn Crop
 Midwest Awaits
 Bumper Corn Crop

Midwest Awaits Bumper Corn Crop

Ideal growing weather wipes out flood fears

(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.

Forget Scarecrows: Falcons Keep Pesky Birds Away

Farmers nationwide fight feathers with feathers

(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...

Forget the Farmers Market: Buy the Farm

21st century-style 'sharecropping' takes root nationwide

(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...

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

Feds eye other produce as salmonella source

(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...

Poor Crops Threaten to Worsen Food Crisis

Bad weather in US, Australia threatens harvests amid shortages

(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...

NZ Farmers Gas About Sheep Flatulence Pollution Law

Fears that methane curb could ruin farms

(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...

Diesel Thieves Plague Farmers
 Diesel Thieves Plague Farmers 

Diesel Thieves Plague Farmers

Irrigation systems are also caches of diesel fuel

(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...

UN Head: Drop Policies That Up Food Prices

Ban urges global response to avert mass starvation

(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...

Soaring Fertilizer Prices Another Cog in Food Crisis

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

(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...

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