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News archives

Monday, March 29, 2010

D.C. Days
(Washington, D.C) - Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) hosted more than 40 New Jersey farmers and agricultural leaders Thursday for another in his series of "D.C. Days." Participants met with policymakers and thought leaders, discussing ways to improve agriculture policy. Among the issues they discussed was leg... Continued...

Farmland Values Trounce Stocks
JOHNSTON, Iowa (DTN) -- Gary Woodley's 30-year track record in farmland ownership parallels the best and worst of the U.S. farm economy. The Clarion, Iowa, corn farmer first bought shares in the family farm in 1979, then watched as it plummeted 65 percent through the mid-1980s. Each $1,000 inve... Continued...

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Tractor could tap brush for renewable energy
Floodwood, Minn. (AP)--Steve Traeger drove the 200-horsepower, all-wheel-drive tractor into a wall of willow and alder and never flinched. Brush and small trees bent and snapped, and the BioBaler towed behind the tractor was chewing it up and packing it tightly into half-ton bales as if it were ... Continued...

Friday, March 26, 2010

Commodity leaders offer perspectives
The Commodity Classic annually offers a General Session that showcases the four sponsoring group leaders' common interests as well as different viewpoints on agricultural issues. Held at Anaheim, Calif., the 2010 General Session was true to form as emcee Mark Mayfield held separate interviews wi... Continued...

Panel OKs child nutrition legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Senate Agriculture Committee on March 24 reported out the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, a bill to reauthorize the child nutrition programs with a $4.5 billion increase in funding over 10 years for school, after-school and summer meal programs. The committee unanimously supp... Continued...

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

With cheap food imports, Haiti can't feed itself
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The earthquake not only smashed markets, collapsed warehouses and left more than 2.5 million people without enough to eat. It may also have shaken up the way the developing world gets food. Decades of inexpensive imports — especially rice from the United States — punctuat... Continued...

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

15 Conservation Groups Oppose Cutting USDA Conservation Program to Pay for Child Nutrition Bill
WASHINGTON, -- Fifteen conservation groups oppose cutting more than $2 billion dollars from the largest of USDA's working lands conservation programs, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), to pay for a child nutrition reauthorization bill drafted by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairw... Continued...

Monday, March 22, 2010

Genetically modified foods get U.S. traction, global debate
For more than a decade, two opposing views of the technology used for genetically engineering crops have fought for the hearts and minds of the world's farmers. At best, they've come to a standoff. The technology allows scientists to genetically manipulate common crops such as corn, cotton and s... Continued...

Child Nutrition Act: Bill would reauthorize nutrition programs
WASHINGTON — Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., unveiled a bill March 17 that would reauthorize the child nutrition programs that would increase funding for school lunch and other programs by $4.5 billion over 10 years, with some of the money coming from the budget for th... Continued...

Sunday, March 21, 2010

With cheap food imports, Haiti can’t feed itself
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The earthquake not only smashed markets, collapsed warehouses and left more than 2.5 million people without enough to eat. It may also have shaken up the way the developing world gets food. Decades of inexpensive imports — especially rice from the U.S. — punctuated with ab... Continued...

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Colonialism lives in biotech seed proposal for Africa
Bill Gates and the biotech juggernauts are doing their best to keep Africa dependent on imported technology, just like in the bad old days of colonialism. Gates, Monsanto and Pioneer have joined the long list of those believing they know best how the continent should grow its food. If the history of... Continued...

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

NFU Delegates Set Federal Farm Program Priorities
National Farmers Union delegates have adopted a special order of business calling on Washington policy makers to consider the unique challenges facing rural America when debating policy solutions regarding the nation's federal farm programs. “The 2008 Farm Bill provided a framework for building ... Continued...

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Network of Black Farm Groups Call for USDA Funding of Settlement
The Honorable Nanc Pelosi
The Honorable Harry Reid
Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
Majority Leader, U.S. Senate
Dear Madam Speaker and Mr. Majority Leader: On February 12, 2010 Pre... Continued...

Monday, March 8, 2010

Vietnam Feels the Heat of a 100-Year Drought
HANOI -- Every year, even at the peak of Vietnam's dry season, when the Red River is at its lowest, Hanoi's skilled captains manage to negotiate their flat-bottomed boats through its shallow waters. But this year, with a drought gripping the entire country and water levels at record lows, the river ... Continued...

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Commodity Futures Trading Commission should impose tough limits on Wall Street speculators
Minneapolis –The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) should act immediately to limit excessive speculation by Wall Street firms on energy derivatives trades, a move that will help address extreme volatility in both energy and agricultural markets, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Poli... Continued...

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Cheap food policy contributing to childhood obesity
Minneapolis – A decades-old “cheap food” policy has helped create a broken U.S. food system where unhealthy foods are both cheaper and more available to children than are healthy foods, writes the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s David Wallinga, M.D. in a new article in the March issue o... Continued...