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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: farmers

farmers stories: 21 news summaries

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Truly Wacky Online Dating Sites 

From vampire lovers to geeks to punk rockers, a site for everyone

Oct 25, 09 10:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - If the matches you’re finding on eHarmony are too vanilla, never fear: There’s a dating site out there for you, and Julie Gerstein of Lemondrop rounds up the quirkiest of the quirky:
  • If you wear a lot of black: Find your “own personal Satan” at
... More »

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Internet • marijuana • dating • punk music • online dating • Star Trek • geeks • Ayn Rand • farmers • trends

 '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

Glut of Heifers Enter Milk-Flooded Dairy Industry

Semen-sorting technology bolsters herds, depressing already depressed prices

Sep 29, 09 11:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - Times are tough everywhere, but dairy farming, never the industry of millionaires, is reeling from a double-whammy of its own making. Three years ago, new semen-sorting technology allowed farmers to ensure nine out of 10 calves born were female (bull calves largely end up in McDonald's wrappers and the like).... More »

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farming • dairy • dairy products • farmers • milk prices

Euro Farmers Protest Falling Prices With Huge Milk Dump

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

Sep 16, 09 6:41 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Belgium • milk • Europe • waste • recession • European Commission • farmers • commodity prices • financial crisis • milk prices

(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... More »

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agriculture • Iowa • farming • farmers

China Trusts Prostitutes More Than Politicians

Oldest profession comes in third in poll; farmers are tops

Aug 4, 09 12:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Chinese people trust prostitutes more than they trust politicians, scientists, or soldiers, according to a new survey from Insight China Magazine. Sex workers finished third, the BBC reports, with 7.9% of the vote, just behind farmers and religious workers. “A list like this is at the same... More »

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China • prostitute • survey • farmers • politicians

(Newser) - "Got Milk?" isn't the question organic dairy farmers want to hear these days. Consumers couldn’t get enough of organic milk three years ago, but the souring economy and glut of new-to-the-market organic farmers have spoiled sales, which are expected to drop nearly 15% this year. “We’... More »

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organic food • milk • Vermont • dairy • farmers • organic farming

Chew on This: Biodegradable Gum Hits Stores

Will vanish in six weeks after a good chew

Mar 30, 09 6:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - The first widely available biodegradable chewing gum hits British stores today. Chicza Rainforest Gum is manufactured in Mexico from the sap of the chicle tree collected by a cooperative network of chicleros, or gum farmers. Unlike regular gum, Chicza uses no petrochemicals, isn't sticky, and dries up and crumbles to... More »

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Mexico • trees • SAP • chewing gum • farmers • chicle • biodegradable

 After Record 
 US Drought, Bleak 
 Summer Looms 

Texas farmers fear poor crops, Calif. preps for increased wildfires

Mar 11, 09 4:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - The first two months of this year have been the driest on record in the US, foreshadowing a summer of poor crops and brutal wildfires. Texas farmers have delayed planting corn and cotton, while cattle ranchers have sold off cows they can no longer feed. “It might take me... More »

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Florida • weather • Texas • drought • California wildfires • farmers

(Newser) - Neil Young puts down his guitar and picks up his pen today on behalf of family farmers. In an essay in the Boston Globe, Young argues that tight credit, declining prices, natural disasters, and the overall economic gloom has many of them on the brink. The situation is as dire... More »

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agriculture • singer • Neil Young • bailout • farmers

 As Milk Prices Sour, 
 Cows Head 
 to Slaughter 

Farmers can't afford to keep them

Feb 16, 09 9:17 AM CST
(AP) - Hundreds of thousands of America's dairy cows are being turned into hamburgers because milk prices have dropped so low that farmers can no longer afford to feed the animals. Dairy farmers say they face a perfect storm of destructive economic forces: At home, feed prices are rising and consumers... More »

MORE ABOUT:
milk • beef • cows • consumer prices • farmers • recession depression


 Salmonella 
 Scare Rattles 
 Peanut County 

Farmers report fewer contracts

Feb 8, 09 5:50 PM CST
(Newser) - A Georgia county that boasts a big peanut in its courthouse square is getting crunched by the salmonella outbreak, the Los Angeles Times reports. In Blakely-Early County, Ga.—the self-proclaimed "Peanut Capital of the World"—peanut plant workers are losing jobs and farmers are getting fewer contracts.... More »

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layoffs • Georgia • recession • salmonella • outbreak • fuel costs • economy • peanut • farmers

OPINION

 Use Stimulus to 
 Invest in Food Reform 

Fixing food will save health and environment

Jan 12, 09 5:19 PM CST
(Newser) - Just because Barack Obama has a lot of issues to deal with once he's sworn in, he shouldn't leave food reform off the table. Putting a bulk of the stimulus package toward local and regional food systems will cut costs and bring us back from the edge, Tom Philpott, founder... More »

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food • Barack Obama • agriculture • economic stimulus package • farmers markets • economy • farmers • President Obama

 Farmers Already Working 
 on Your '09 Bird 

With Americans eating 17% of annual output today, planning ahead is crucial

Nov 27, 08 1:43 PM CST
(Newser) - Ever wonder how the grocery store bins fill up with so many turkeys come late November? Lots and lots of planning, explains Nina Shen Rastogi in Slate. Americans will eat about 46 million birds today—that accounts for 17% of all turkeys raised in the US in a given year.... More »

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agriculture • turkey • Thanksgiving • Christmas • farmers

Amish Blast ID Cow Chips
as 'Mark of the Beast'

Farmers sue USDA over Michigan's mandatory tag program

Nov 14, 08 3:44 AM CST
(Newser) - A group of Amish farmers has launched a federal lawsuit against the USDA claiming that electronic ID tags on cattle are the mark of Satan himself, not merely of the Michigan Animal Identification System, Wired reports. The farmers say the mandatory program, aimed at tracking livestock diseases, violates the "... More »

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cattle • religion • USDA • Amish • Satan • RFID • farmers

ANALYSIS

Let's Chow Down on the Food System

Open letter to prez candidates calls for overhaul—now

Oct 12, 08 5:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Americans touch it everyday and it’s a matter of national security, but John McCain and Barack Obama haven’t raised the issue while campaigning: America’s food system is in dire need of an overhaul, Michael Pollan writes in an open letter to the candidates in the New York ... More »

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food • energy • agriculture • FDA • meat • food prices • animal • farmers

Protests Close Plant Making World's Cheapest Car

Company to move factory building 'People's Car,' billed as world's cheapest at $2,500

Sep 2, 08 3:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Tata Motors has halted work at the Indian factory where it was producing its Nano model, billed as the world’s cheapest car. A 2-year-long land dispute escalated when West Bengal farmers trapped workers inside, the AP reports, and the company instructed employees to stay home this week. "A... More »

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business • protests • West Bengal • auto industry • Tata Nano • farmers

 Farmers Hunt Wildlife 
 to Keep Greens Clean 

E. coli scare prompts extreme measures in 'America's Salad Bowl'

Sep 2, 08 12:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - To please cautious companies, farmers have turned hunters in California's Salinas River Valley, where 60% of the nation's lettuce grows. They’re stalking wild pigs, poisoning ponds and erecting fences—disrupting wildlife and destroying habitats in the process—to avoid another E. coli contamination, the AP reports. But some question... More »

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E. coli • cattle • food contamination • spinach • wildlife • farmers

Plains States See Boom,
But Await Bust

Strong farming economy highlights nationwide differences

Aug 20, 08 2:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Driven by rising food prices and farmers’ access to loans, the Plains states are a bright economic spot amid the nationwide slump, the Washington Post reports. Farm country was able to avoid the housing bust because it also avoided the boom. And retail space is filling up as consumer... More »

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farmland • retail sales • food prices • farm • fuel costs • feed prices • bust • farmers • bubble

Fla. Tomato Growers Seek Millions in Salmonella Relief

Congress should write check to cover 'blunder' by FDA, other agencies

Jul 15, 08 4:16 PM CDT
(Newser) - Florida tomato growers are seeking millions from Congress to help pay for a "blatant blunder" by federal agencies in the salmonella investigation that has gravely damaged their sales, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports. Conservative estimates put the losses of Florida’s growers at $100 million, with estimates reaching beyond $300... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • tomatoes • salmonella • farmers

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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