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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: farming

farming stories: 64 news summaries

1 - 20 of 64 Stories | 1 2 3 4 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

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

OPINION

 Modern Farming Has 
 Lost Its Soul 

Family farms have a magic all their own—and can compete

Aug 23, 09 10:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - We know today’s food industry cranks out “unhealthy food, mishandles waste, and overuses antibiotics,” writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times, but the heart of the matter is that today’s industrial farms have “no soul.” In a visit back to his old stomping... More »

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agriculture • farming • farm • food industry • Nicholas Kristof • factory farm

(Newser) - With Texas caught in the midst of a brutal drought, a new crime is on the rise: hay rustling. Hay has been disappearing from farms, depriving cattle of much-needed nourishment, the Wall Street Journal reports. Stolen hay reports remain sporadic—the Journal catches up with one farmer who lost... More »

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agriculture • Texas • farming • drought • theft • hay

(Newser) - A falloff in demand and an end to subsidies has tobacco farmers across the country turning to the vino, the Wall Street Journal reports—farming grapes and making wine, that is. “The small-plot tobacco farmer is a thing of the past,” says a North Carolina wine official,... More »

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farming • tobacco • crops • wine industry • vineyard • winery

(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

Backyard Chickens Ruffle Neighbors' Feathers

Low-cost organic egg dispenser, or messy nuisance?

Jul 15, 09 1:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - Backyard chickens have polarized the city council of Salem, Ore., as residents argue over whether to legalize keeping the birds in home coops, the Wall Street Journal reports. It’s one of several such disputes around the US, with some extolling the virtues of a source of free eggs and... More »

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backyards • farming • eggs • recession • Oregon • city council • chicken • city

(Newser) - The various sectors of the global economy have become so entwined with food production that prices are acting in a very “puzzling” manner, the Economist reports. Last year, the market responded rationally to the global food crisis of 2007-08, increasing production and thus lowering prices. But with another bumper... More »

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farming • developing countries • food prices • Third World • supply and demand • food production • global food crisis • cereals • yield

(Newser) - The motto of Rising Sun Farm in Wisconsin is “Unconventional Farming”—the naked pleasures of which Judd Spicer experiences firsthand and recounts for the Heavy Table. Spicer describes the moment of disrobing as “scary, liberating, strange, natural, different, fun,” but once he’s free and clear... More »

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Wisconsin • farming • farm • nudist • naturism • nudism • naked • Rising Sun Farm

 Dairy Teams 
 Seek Greener 
 Cow Burps 

Methane production drops after farms adopt new feed

Jun 5, 09 9:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - Cow belches have been called a bigger environmental threat than cars and trucks—and now dairy groups are taking steps to keep dangerous burps to a minimum, the New York Times reports. One Vermont farmer has seen his cows’ methane emissions drop 18% after boosting the alfalfa and flaxseed in... More »

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climate change • environment • farming • global warming • France • Vermont • cows • methane • farm • feeding • Stonyfield Farms

OPINION

Old Days—Good and Bad—Are Back: Noonan

In slump, simple pleasures are chic as traditional values gain

Apr 17, 09 10:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Reading about a Michigan family that shed modern excess in favor of a self-sufficient farm life didn't strike Peggy Noonan as shocking in these economic times. Her fellow New Yorkers have already begun responding to the same forces, causing Noonan to predict the rise of "a certain authenticity chic,... More »

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agriculture • retail • fashion • sustainable living • New York City • shopping • farming • recession • Botox • retail sales • economy

 Jobless Japanese 
 Work the Land 

$10M government program trains new agricultural force

Apr 15, 09 11:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - As their country struggles with its worst recession since World War II, many Japanese city slickers stymied by the job market are trying out the farming life, the Wall Street Journal reports. Aiming to rejuvenate an industry in which two-thirds of full-time workers are 65 and older, the government has... More »

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agriculture • farming • Japan • recession • unemployment • financial crisis • job training

OPINION

 'Better' Pork Carries 
 Big Health Risks  

Free-range pork may relieve your guilt, but bother your tummy

Apr 10, 09 9:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Free-range pork sounds better for everyone involved, especially the pig. But exposure to the outdoors means exposure to dangerous pathogens, from salmonella to toxoplasmosis to the deadly parasite trichinosis, writes James McWilliams for the New York Times. "Free range is like piggy day care, a thoughtfully arranged system designed... More »

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agriculture • parasites • farming • salmonella • pig • farm • pork • locavore • toxoplasmosis • trichinosis • free range

 Buy Smaller Eggs, 
 Ease Hens' Pain: Farmer 

Free range producer says hens hurt when they lay large eggs

Mar 11, 09 4:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - Free range, cage free, organic. Add one more to think about when you’re grocery-shopping: Medium eggs cause hens less pain when laid, a British farmer tells the Times. “It takes more out of hens to lay large eggs,” he said. “It would be kinder to eat... More »

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farming • eggs • animal rights • poultry • chicken • animal

 Dairy Farmers Going Udders Up 

Economy slams cow tenders

Jan 12, 09 4:48 PM CST
(Newser) - Dairy farmers are struggling to survive in the face of huge drops in the price they get for milk, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Though grocery store prices have stayed relatively constant, farmers are now getting just $10 for each hundred pounds of milk they sell, down from $20... More »

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agriculture • farming • dairy • food prices • dairy products • agricultural economy • financial crisis

 On Green Menu: Roos & Camels 

Studies say beef emits greenhouse gases

Jan 5, 09 5:34 AM CST
(Newser) - Australians are being advised to save the planet by eating kangaroos and camels. A study of Australia's 1 million wild camels, descendants of camels imported as pack animals, recommends that their numbers be culled by hunting them for food, AFP reports. A separate study suggests that kangaroos be farmed... More »

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cattle • Australia • farming • beef • methane • camels • sheep • greenhouse-gas emissions • kangaroos • Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Center

Volatile Markets a Growing Concern for Farmers

Volatile prices, uncertain demand push some farmers into the red

Dec 30, 08 1:05 PM CST
(Newser) - Volatile commodity prices and uncertainty about future demand are nurturing growing concern among American farmers as revenues sink—even as demand sprouts in emerging energy markets, the Wall Street Journal reports. Costs of doing business—namely seed, machinery, and fertilizer—are riding high alongside transportation costs, and commodity prices are... More »

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agriculture • farming • ethanol • grains • commodities • agricultural economy • corn belt

 Saltwater Crops 
 Could Ease Land Demand 

Hardy, saltwater-loving plants could produce biofuels from otherwise unusable land

Dec 5, 08 6:04 AM CST
(Newser) - A worldwide shortage of prime farmland has scientists taking a closer look at plants that thrive on briny water, Wired reports. Plants that can grow in earth too salty for other crops have huge potential for use as biofuel as well as food: One variety produces 1.7 times more... More »

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agriculture • farming • biofuel • plants • crops • farmland

 Going Global 
 Juices Cranberry Biz 

Farmers raking it in after successful campaign to sell US berry to the world

Nov 27, 08 6:44 AM CST
(Newser) - America's cranberry farmers have turned sour times around with a push to bring the berry to the world, the New York Times reports. Eight years ago, farmers were faced with a glut of berries, but now, with almost a third of the crop being exported to nations who have been... More »

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agriculture • farming • antioxidants • cranberries • Ocean Spray • US exports

US Farmers See Leaner Times in Stormy Market

Many predict downturn for agriculture after years of record profits

Oct 22, 08 1:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Plunging crop prices and soaring costs are hitting US farmers with a one-two punch that’s knocked the fight out of what had been one of the stronger segments of the nation’s economy, reports the Wall Street Journal. Corn prices have dropped some 50% since July, and prices for... More »

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farming • ethanol • corn • farmland • soybeans • financial crisis • Archer-Daniels-Midland

1 - 20 of 64 Stories | 1 2 3 4 Next >>


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