News from USA

Debunking 'the big lie' about GM crops In spite of two decades of stunning scientific, humanitarian and financial successes and an admirable record of health and environmental safety, the a... US pesticide makers seek answers as bee losses sting Monsanto Co is hosting a "Bee Summit." Bayer AG is breaking ground on a "Bee Care Center." And Sygenta AG is funding grants for research into the acce... Could Drones Revolutionize Agriculture? The word "drone" tends to conjure up images of planes that kill terrorists or of creepy surveillance tools. But tiny drone airplanes made of foam m... Senate Agriculture Committee Plows Forward on Farm Bill The Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday approved a five-year farm bill that reveals a new consensus on crop and nutrition policy, but it emerged o... A New Kind Of Agriculture Replaces Intuition With Precision Record-setting drought across the U.S. in recent years has pushed everyone to look for new ways to save water. So while nature and beer don’t always g... House Agriculture Committee Approves Farm Bill After a late-night session Wednesday, the House Agriculture Committee voted to approve a $940 billion farm bill, a day after the Senate passed its ver... Farm bill clears Senate Agriculture committee A new five-year farm bill quickly cleared the Senate Agriculture Committee Tuesday, despite regional sparring between Midwest and Southern Republicans... Catholic groups say agriculture laws should aid poor, farmers Leaders of several prominent Catholic institutions asked members of Congress to provide for the hungry, protect the interests of farmers and promote e... GMO Agriculture and Chemical Pesticides are Killing the Bees The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has failed to protect bees from neonicotinoid pesticides, according to a lawsuit against the agency, file... More of the Same Wasteful Farm Bill Spending About a year ago, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed a new, five-year farm bill, well in advance of the last bill's expiration date of September ... Agriculture land issues have rules Agricultural land uses are among the Planning Commission’s recent priorities, with the panel developing regulations for farm markets, farm product sta... Blood and Spore: How a Bat-Killing Fungus Is Threatening U.S. Agriculture Less than two years ago, the deaths of bats by White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) was called the number one crisis affecting mammals in the US. Since then, thi... Petroleum Losing Its Luster for Agriculture Sector Just yesterday, we noted that auto manufacturers are beginning to shed their century-old love affair with petroleum, and now it seems that the agricul... Agriculture Department Might Escape Furloughs The Agriculture Department will not have to furlough employees at the Farm Service Agency this fiscal year, and hopes to avoid putting workers at the ... Carl Brewer: Importance of agriculture is shared by all For most of my youth, my summers were spent on the 1,800-acre Kinslow Ranch owned and operated by my aunt and uncle near Dover, Okla. My uncle has a b... Explosive Agriculture and That Larger April Fireball Two days after the Boston Marathon bombing, a humongous explosion rocked the Texas town of West when a fire broke out at an agriculture retail facilit... Drought, other factors weigh on livestock A study from the South Dakota Center for Farm/Ranch Business Management says drought and other factors made the livestock business financially difficu... Should horse go back on the menu? Across the country, a push is on to allow horses intended for human consumption to be slaughtered on American soil. The push by some meat processing p... Pig Farmer’s Success Challenges Conventional Wisdom Russ Kremer has an award winning passion for hog farming. People who visit his Missouri farm often remark that his humanely raised, drug-free animals ... Much Of American Meat Contaminated With Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria A large proportion of American meat is contaminated with superbugs - antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to an Environmental Working Group analys... From Capitol Hill to a Farm in Africa Jon Vandenheuvel is not your normal Republican activist. True, he once worked on Capitol Hill, but times change and often so does one's worldview. Tod... Furs fly as Chinese consumers drive boom in U.S. mink farming CHICAGO (Reuters) - Battered by the economic downturn and years of animal rights activism in their own backyard, American mink farmers are now in a di... Wyoming farming community becoming more diverse LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Perry Baptista said she encounters an interesting reaction whenever she collects compost from the University of Wyoming's dining ... Silken Suri Alpaca Ranch, LLC In honor of National Alpaca Month, Silken Suri Alpaca Ranch, LLC announces its grand reopening in Castle Rock, CO. Silken Suri is offering a free semi... Obama's Genetically Modified food bill is bad for America's health President Barack Obama signed a spending bill, HR 933, into law, the “Monsanto Protection Act,” that strips federal courts of the authority to immedia... USDA starts new program to track farm animals The federal government has launched a new livestock identification program to help agriculture officials to quickly track livestock in cases of diseas... Times are good for California agriculture Vernon Crowder, Rabobank senior vice president and agricultural economist, does not miss much. “Where’s that pretty girl who was with you last year... Cattle drop to lowest since July on weak beef demand Cattle futures fell to the lowest in nine months on signs of weak U.S. beef demand amid cold weather and slow exports. Hog prices also dropped. Who... Becoming a Farmer “Why would I want to be a farmer,” I hear you ask. “I am not interested in working the land and living a life of poverty.” If you read my previous... Private banks eye a bigger share of agricultural loan business Private sector banks are sensing a business opportunity in villages and rural areas, following the government's decision to extend the interest subven... Some farmers dealing with 'dust bowl' conditions The scenery in Lincoln County shifted last week when a windstorm blew through Colorado's eastern plains. The tiny town of Karval was blasted with g... Kansas beef cattle numbers lowest since 1999 Beef cattle numbers in Kansas are at their lowest level in 14 years because of the ongoing drought, but dairy herds are growing slightly to make up fo... Sheriff says teens confessed to shooting cattle The Bell County Sheriff says two teenage boys admitted they shot cattle in several pastures. Farmers say two dozen cows have died in the past two w... New strain of citrus disease in Texas Rio Grande Valley citrus growers were told about a new strain of citrus disease discovered in South Texas during the semi-annual meeting of Texas Citr... Dumfries and Galloway snow-hit farmers meet minister Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead is to meet farmers affected by recent severe winter weather. Spring snowfalls affected southern Scotland i... Late freeze could harm Oklahoma crops With temperatures expected to dip below freezing for a second consecutive night in many parts of the state on Wednesday, farmers feared the weather's ... Rain, cold, snow to challenge U.S. wheat and corn crops Rain, snow and a cold snap this week will add valuable moisture to drought-stricken soils in the U.S. Plains and Midwest but also damage portions of t... Farmers look to terminate cover crops Many of Iowa’s winter-hardy cover crops, such as cereal rye, wheat and clover, need to be terminated at least two weeks before planting to minimize yi... Thirsty cities drain Colorado farmland Farmers throughout the Great Plains are preparing for what could be a tough growing season. They’re in a tight spot with irrigation water, due to the ... GM crop regulations could be relaxed by EU-US trade treaty One of the conditions of the proposed free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union could be that restrictions on genetically-... Cattle rustling continues in SW Missouri Jasper County authorities are investigating the latest in a string of cattle thefts in southwest Missouri. Deputies say 18 cattle were stolen last ... US says EU rules on biotech crops 'unnecessary' The United States has criticized "unnecessary" European Union rules against genetically modified US crop imports as it prepares to enter free-trade ta... Two charged in Dent County cattle theft Two people have been arrested accused of stealing four cows and a calf. The Dent County Sheriff's Office said Manu Te'o, 25, of Waynesville, and Er... Modified crops get boost from budget deal Food and small-farming activists are decrying an addition to the stopgap spending deal that was signed last week by President Barack Obama to keep the... Oklahoma freeze threatening drought hit crops Freezing weather in Oklahoma may have damaged wheat plants that already were hurt by the worst drought since the 1930s. Temperatures overnight drop... 3 reasons farmland may be topping Not even an historic drought could trip up farmland values in the Corn Belt in the last year. Double-digit gains continue even outside of what's typic... Cattle futures climb on tightening US beef supplies Cattle futures rose for the third time in four sessions on signs of shrinking U.S. supply of animals available to beef processors. Hogs declined. A... New US-EU talks threatened by agriculture spats President Barack Obama used Washington's grandest stage - the State of the Union speech - to announce negotiations with Europe aimed at creating the w... California farmers team up to convert sugar beets to ethanol Amid the vast almond orchards and grape fields that surround Five Points in California's Central Valley, a once-dominant crop that has nearly disappea... Farmland prices: Is the bubble about to burst? Record-high prices for corn, soybeans, wheat and other commodities have left growers flush with cash to purchase more land. And what the farmers don't...