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News archives

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Research settles which is cheaper ethanol
Ever since farmers started selling their corn to be fermented into alcohol for motor fuel, the ethanol business has wrestled with the question: Is it a waste of energy to make energy from corn? Recent studies could put that question to rest. But they also raise a new problem for corn ethanol: ... Continued...

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Jobs on farms, not abroad
LEBANON, VA. - In a crook of Clinch Valley in Lebanon, Va., there are no counterculture coffeehouses, no art museums, and the "ginger" salad dressing at the town's only Japanese restaurant is really Thousand Island. Despite its country couture, Lebanon (pop. 3,300), once betrothed to King Coal, i... Continued...

Monsanto link to trade talks delegation denied
The Department of Agriculture yesterday denied a claim by Independent Senator David Norris that a representative of the chemical company, Monsanto was on the official Irish delegation to the World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong last December. The allegation was made during a press confere... Continued...

Sunday, February 19, 2006

In Pile of Waste, Md. Scientists Dig Up a Response to Bird Flu
The problem is one local farmers hope to avoid. The solution is a simple, if gruesome, one. When avian flu is detected in a single chicken on a farm, the entire flock -- often tens of thousands of chickens -- must be killed. So, what to do with all those dead birds? Enter the humble compost heap. ... Continued...

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Fuel for Growth
AURORA, S.D. -- Past miles of frozen corn and soybean fields and signs warning of crows, a procession of trucks and rail cars ferrying corn kernels is lined up at a plant producing an increasing amount of one of the nation's hottest alternative fuels. This sprawling plant is grinding massive amou... Continued...

Friday, February 17, 2006

Strong competition bill introduced in Senate
A bipartisan group of Senators introduced a bill today that would give USDA clout to enforce laws against unfair price manipulation in livestock markets as well as strengthening the ability of all farmers to bargain for fair prices from processors. "The Competitive and Fair Agricultural Markets A... Continued...

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Japanese group backs packers, raps USDA
An inspection team from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that had visited several U.S. packing plants late last week reported back that most U.S. processing companies were employing sufficient safeguards to be qualified to ship beef to Japan. The finding was in sharp contrast to an earlier rep... Continued...

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Japan's ruling party sending inspection team to U.S. beef facilities
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said it is sending inspectors to U.S. beef facilities following reports from a senior agricultural official last week that downer cattle were slaughtered for human consumption at U.S. plants. Japanese Vice Farm Minister Mamoru Ishihara said the U.S. Departm... Continued...

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Search for alternative market led Rabe to Niman Ranch
LAKE CITY, Minn. -- Dennis Rabe was looking for a better market alternative when he discovered Niman Ranch. Rabe and a couple other southeastern Minnesota pork producers were trying to figure out ways to market their hogs for more than the record low 8 cents a pound back in 1998. Rabe had done f... Continued...

China intends to push for GM crop studies
A national regulation was unveiled in October 2004 to require labels on edible oil that is made of genetically modified resources. China will work towards finding wider applications of agricultural biotechnology in the next five years because the sector's growth is important to the country's ove... Continued...

Monday, February 13, 2006

ADM and Metabolix Announce First Commercial Plant for PHA Natural Plastics
Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) and Metabolix have announced that ADM will build the first commercial plant to produce a new generation of high-performance natural plastics that are eco-friendly and based on sustainable, renewable resources. The plant will have an initial annual capacity ... Continued...

Feuding Farmers 1: Overview – Sept. 26, 2005
WASHINGTON (DTN) -- When the Central American Free Trade Agreement came before Congress earlier this year, the nation's two largest cattle groups took diametrically opposed positions on it. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association called it a "great deal for the U.S. cattle industry." R-CALF USA te... Continued...

Feuding Farmers 2: NCBA vs. R-CALF – Sept. 27, 2005
DES MOINES (DTN) -- The cattle industry's two largest producer groups are starting to realize that their bitter battles are undermining cattlemen's political clout. But their approaches to issues such as trade and the role of meat packers are so different -- and each side's belief in its own appro... Continued...

Feuding Farmers 3: NFU, AFBF – Sept. 28, 2005
OMAHA (DTN) -- The statement of beliefs on the website of the National Farmers Union uses the words "community" or "communities" four times. The comparable statement on the website of the American Farm Bureau Federation uses the words "freedom" or "free" eight times. As if to emphasize these p... Continued...

Feuding Farmers 4: Corn Groups Differ – Sept. 29, 2005
OMAHA (DTN) -- Ever since the 1950s, a major fault line in the farm-policy debate has been between those who want the government to support farmers' prices and those who want the government to support farmers' incomes. Starting in the 1980s, the income-support camp has won more and more of the bat... Continued...

Feuding Farmers 5: What Next? – Sept. 30, 2005
WASHINGTON (DTN) -- When agricultural producers can't agree, politicians get a free pass to do nothing. "Members of Congress typically don't like to say 'no' to their constituents, but what they can do is back-burner the issue and escape with saying neither 'yes' nor 'no,'" said Clayton Yeutter, a... Continued...

Friday, February 10, 2006

USDA Sees Farm Income Plummeting In 2006
USDA says net farm income is forecast to be $56.2 billion in 2006, down from 2005 by $16.4 billion but slightly above its 10-year average of $55.7 billion. According to USDA's 2006 Farm Sector Income forecast, the 2-year period 2004-2005 was one of unprecedented income creation for the U.S. farm... Continued...

US Government Report Says Downer Cows Still Being Slaughtered for Food
The US Department of Agriculture's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has audited the country's bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance program and found several problems. In particular, the OIG report states that some slaughterhouses continue to kill and process non-ambulatory or "... Continued...

Johanns outlines path toward new farm bill
When Mike Johanns was sworn in as the 28th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Jan. 21, 2005, he was quickly immersed in the debate over the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and beef trade with Canada. Now, almost one year later, some of those trade issues, are sti... Continued...

Less for agriculture, more for conservation, says USA
The US government is looking to spend less on agricultural support next year, and to redirect more funds to conservation and renewable energy. Presenting Washington's latest budget proposals for 2007 this week, US agriculture secretary Mike Johanns said it was essential to exercise financial rest... Continued...