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Most recent stories

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Healthy eating is more than what goes in your mouth
Tiny green leaves sprouted from the tilled black earth in meticulously planned rows in the garden in front of Guardian Angels in Oak­dale. Already, the radishes and lettuce were ready for harvesting. Other vegetables, like the cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli, were displaying thick green leave... Continued...

Faith and fresh vegetables
To understand what makes the Stevens Square Farmers Market special, you’d have to wander beyond the Plymouth Congregational Church parking lot where vendors set up their stands each Wednesday beginning in July. The Groveland Emergency Food Shelf in the church’s basement would be a good place to s... Continued...

Monday, June 22, 2009

Silver lining for Mid-Sized Farmers: “Ag in the Middle” finds avenues within Compass Group accounts
As part of their commitment to sustainable agriculture and wellness, Compass Group North America is piloting several programs to support ‘buying locally’ (defined as food grown within a 150 mile radius) across the country with ‘AG in the Middle’ being the primary focus. With Compass’ goal to dev... Continued...

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer
It’s not exactly what you’d call a pastoral idyll. “I have a farm on a dead-end street in the ghetto,” deadpans Novella Carpenter. But she’s not kidding. Ten blocks from downtown Oakland, Calif., the peeps and thumps of Carpenter’s livestock compete with shrieks from car alarms, her chicken coop lea... Continued...

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Minnesota farmers' support for climate-change bill waning
Minnesota farmers thought they'd be wearing the white hats. When the climate-change debate began, many growers were intrigued. They control millions of green acres, the dawn of carbon credits promised new revenue and biofuels showed green could be profitable. "We are the ones that are growing ... Continued...

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

'Tough' Negotiator Peterson Rocks Climate Debate
Rep. Collin Peterson, the outspoken House Agriculture Committee chairman who has emerged as a key figure in the climate debate, is used to rocking the house. He has done so, guitar in hand, at night clubs, the Grand Ole Opry and Farm Aid as the leader of rock-country bands. And with gavel in hand... Continued...

Monday, June 15, 2009

Opinion: Eating with principle; choices aren't simple
In a sprawling 90,000-square-foot greenhouse outside Fairfield, Dean Goodale grows vegetables to feed Indian priests, Chicago foodies and up to 4,000 Fairfield residents. His organic fare - tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, eggplants, cucumbers and such - graces the shelves of trendy Whole Food stores ac... Continued...

Farming out the back yard
Some busy people rely on personal chefs and personal shoppers. Attorney Catherine Turner has a personal farmer. About once a week, Stefan Meyer bikes to Turner's south Minneapolis home to tend the crops he planted last month in her back yard. He pulls weeds, applies organic fertilizer, makes nota... Continued...

Urban hydroponic farm: An idea that's all wet
Jim Hannigan is a glass-half-full kind of guy. He has to be if he wants to sell you juicy strawberries in January picked fresh from his St. Paul farm. For one thing, he's not a farmer. For another, winter isn't exactly peak growing season in Minnesota. Hannigan runs a produce distribution b... Continued...

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Sustainable agriculture rules could benefit farmers
Define sustainable farming. Lawyers, farmers, environmentalists and government officials have been arguing about that for decades. Now, efforts are under way internationally and in the United States to establish standards for sustainable agriculture that could have a real impact on the bottom lin... Continued...

Thursday, June 11, 2009

'Food, Inc.': Documentary on your dinner
In case you are among the Northern Californians who have avoided thinking about where your dinner comes from, "Food, Inc.," a documentary by Robert Kenner that opens on Friday in San Francisco, will send you to the refrigerator to inspect the information on your food labels. With the film, which ... Continued...

More students on free lunch programs
WASHINGTON — Nearly 20 million children now receive free or reduced-price lunches in the nation's schools, an all-time high, federal data show, and many school districts are struggling to cover their share of the meals' rising costs. Through February, nationwide enrollment in free school lunch pr... Continued...

No. 2 federal ag official is tops with California farmers
On her first trip as the nation's No. 2 agriculture official, Kathleen Merrigan made clear that the Obama administration's commitment to nutrition isn't going to stop with the White House's new vegetable garden. "We have a president and a first lady who are personally very interested in health an... Continued...

Major FDA food safety reform bill on the move in House committee
A House subcommittee Wednesday advanced a comprehensive food safety bill – years in the making – to reform the Food and Drug Administration's regulatory powers. Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce committee pledged to work on refining the bill it heads to a full committee markup session next We... Continued...

Pressed by Phila., USDA to continue free school lunch
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided not to discontinue a Philadelphia school breakfast and lunch program that provides free meals to poor students, members of the city's congressional delegation announced yesterday. Democratic Sens. Bob Casey and Arlen Specter and Rep. Chaka Fattah sai... Continued...

House Agriculture’s Peterson Seeks Changes in Climate Measure
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson said he won’t support U.S. greenhouse-gas legislation backed by Democratic leaders unless changes are made to reduce its potential costs to farmers. Lawmakers are raising questions about the measure and it’s unlikely to get much support among ... Continued...

Finland: Salmonella found in oilseed rape feed
In Finland, salmonella has been found in a consignment of crushed oilseed rape. The salmonella was found in a 30-tonne consignment that was in port storage, and it is the remainder of an almost three million kilo consignment that was imported to Finland in August 2008 by Hankkija-Maatalous. Feed fro... Continued...

Monday, June 8, 2009

Packer Contracts Under Review
USDA's Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration is reviewing the contracts involving pork and poultry producers and their respective processors. The motivation is to determine compliance with the 2008 Farm Bill. As the National Meat Association points out, the farm bill changed some... Continued...

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Coalition urges congress to support USDA conservation programs
WASHINGTON — A coalition of hunting, fishing and conservation organizations urged the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to maintain mandatory spending levels for the many vital U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs as authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, the Theodore Roosevelt C... Continued...

Oakdale church growing more than faith
Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Oakdale is planting food for both the body and the soul. Fifteen years ago, the church converted a half-acre of land into a garden of optimism. It was built in hopes of feeding those who can't afford food on their own, and building community spirit at the same t... Continued...