Archives
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010

December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009

December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008

December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007

December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006

December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005

December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004

News archives

Monday, July 31, 2006

USDA: Thirty-month rule withdrawal may be temporary
USDA withdrew its proposed rule that would allow cattle over 30 months of age into the U.S. market because it felt that it would be inappropriate to continue forward with the rule-making process while it was still investigating a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Canada that affected an an... Continued...

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Cheap, high-protein co-product feeds Iowa beef
Cattle feeder John Hall of Ankeny thinks Iowa's ethanol industry holds the key to the future of the state's cattle industry. After the starch is removed from the corn kernel and used for ethanol production, a high-protein feed remains that can be cheaply fed to livestock. "It's a cheap source ... Continued...

Friday, July 28, 2006

Whole Foods, taking flak, thinks local
"Locally grown produce" is the promise printed on Whole Foods grocery bags this summer. Signs and banners hanging in the markets, complete with pictures of smiling farmers, trumpet the same message. In the produce section, large hand-written green signs point out Frog Hollow Farm peaches from Br... Continued...

Phase out antibiotics in livestock, poultry
Does routinely adding antibiotics to livestock and poultry feed harm their effectiveness in human medicine? Not according to a recent study by the Chicago-based Institute of Food Technologists. The report concludes that phasing out the use of antibiotics in livestock and animal feed "can be draconia... Continued...

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Should we worry about soya in our food?
For Dr Mike Fitzpatrick, the saga of soya began in Monty Python-style with a dead parrot. His investigations into the ubiquitous bean started in 1991 when Richard James, a multimillionaire American lawyer, turned up at the laboratory in New Zealand where Fitzpatrick was working as a consultant toxic... Continued...

U.S. farm programs overhaul may be delayed
Craig Hill, of Milo, Iowa, representing the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, speaks during a U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee regional Farm Bill field hearing, Monday, July 24, 2006, in Ankeny, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) WASHINGTON -- The prospect of overhauling U.S. farm programs next year... Continued...

USDA Does Not Always Enforce Organic Label Standards
DALLAS - More and more shoppers are forking out extra money for organic foods to avoid chemicals, eat healthy and to support the environment. But the USDA Organic label, stamped on everything from chocolate chip cookies to milk to mangos, may not be a mark the public always can trust. Organic ... Continued...

USDA Does Not Always Enforce Organic Label Standards
DALLAS - More and more shoppers are forking out extra money for organic foods to avoid chemicals, eat healthy and to support the environment. But the USDA Organic label, stamped on everything from chocolate chip cookies to milk to mangos, may not be a mark the public always can trust. Organic ... Continued...

Transforming the University of Minnesota: What does it mean for Minnesota’s environment?
Saint Paul -- Big changes are happening at the University of Minnesota. On July 1, the University launched the new College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS), merging the College of Natural Resources, College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences and the Departmen... Continued...

New Center to be Built With Trees Planted by Aldo Leopold
Baraboo - The new Aldo Leopold Legacy Center, part of the Aldo Leopold Foundation’s $7.75 million Land Ethic Campaign, is being constructed with pine trees planted by Aldo Leopold himself some 70 years ago. The trees were sustainably harvested near Baraboo, Wisconsin from January through March and c... Continued...

Monday, July 24, 2006

U.S. Reduces Testing for Mad Cow Disease, Citing Few Infections
By The Agriculture Department said yesterday that it would scale back testing for mad cow disease by about 90 percent, saying the number of infected animals was far too low to justify the current level of surveillance. ?It?s time that our surveillance efforts reflect what we now know is a very, v... Continued...

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Feeding the Factory Farm
Lost in the Post’s journey down the tired, dusty road of misused farm subsidy payments are several simple truths about the real beneficiaries of current U.S. farm policies. Sure there is abuse in the Livestock Compensation Program, but the entire subsidy-based policy regime is a gift to industrial ... Continued...

Benefit for Ranchers Was Created to Help GOP Candidate
If not for a tight Senate race in South Dakota in 2002, there might have been no Livestock Compensation Program. In August 2002, 12 weeks before the election, aides to the Republican candidate, then-Rep. John Thune, were worried about the political fallout from a speech made by President Bush du... Continued...

Monday, July 17, 2006

Energy Crops May Transform British Landscape
The UK government has set targets to achieve 20 percent of electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2020, and to have 5 percent of the country’s needs for automobile fuel met with biofuels by 2010. To meet these targets, it is estimated that 7 percent of the UK’s land will be dedicat... Continued...

Friday, July 14, 2006

STATEMENT BY AGRICULTURE SECRETARY MIKE JOHANNS REGARDING CANADA'S SEVENTH CASE OF BSE July 13, 2006
"Today, Canada announced a case of BSE in a 50 month old animal from Alberta. While the United States and Canada have a strong system in place to protect animal and human health, the diagnosis of BSE in an animal born roughly four and half years after the implementation of the 1997 ruminant-to-rumin... Continued...

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Corn + Water + Paper = a Revolutionary Eco-Friendly Coffee Cup
WATERBURY, Vt. & MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- (BUSINESS WIRE) July 12, 2006-- Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and International Paper today launched the only all-natural paper hot beverage cup available in consumer outlets nationwide. In a conventional cup, the inner surface is lined with a petroleum-based plas... Continued...

Maps of Organic Farms and Processing Facilities in Minnesota
Now Posted at www.organicecology.umn.edu Southwest Research and Outreach Center, Lamberton, MN The University of Minnesota’s Organic Outreach Coordinator, Jim Riddle, announced today that maps showing county-by-county locations of certified organic farms and processing facilities in Minnesot... Continued...

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Whole Foods announces plan to help producers, ensure supply
Whole Foods Market Inc. plans to offer a new product: loans to small and organic farmers. The alternative grocery chain will market long-term, low-interest loans to farmers near its 184 stores nationwide, including two in the Twin Cities. Its stores already sell the produce of local and organi... Continued...

Analysts See Markets Starting to Reflect "Food Vs. Fuel" Fight in Corn, Soybeans
Corn ending stocks was the biggest surprise this morning as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its July Crop Production Report and its July World Agricultural Supply/Demand Estimate. Analysts speaking at a teleconference from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade attributed t... Continued...

Saturday, July 8, 2006

Farm Fresh Pesticides
U.S. agriculture has developed a heavy reliance on chemicals to safeguard crops from yield-robbing weeds. However, many of those herbicides can pose substantial health risks to people, pets, and wildlife, which is why laws prescribe how some of these chemicals are handled in fields. A study now find... Continued...