…most, farmers have more ways to protect themselves. They can, and most do, insure their crops. They can make crop choices. And, they can practice good soil policies. On the…
California Pursues New Health Protections on Chlorpyrifos
…Committee will consider the listing of chlorpyrifos at its next public meeting. “While chlorpyrifos has been protecting crops for more than 50 years, new information in the scientific community leads…
Add a Pond to Your Garden or Farm
…The reflection off of the water could also be used to bounce a little extra sunshine into a window for natural lighting. Ponds also moderate temperatures. While air can change…
Western View: The Right to Not Farm
…Willie Bird Turkeys, doesn’t want to quit anytime soon; he is quite content to continue raising his turkeys and planting his crops. He’s concerned because a new county forced-farming mandate…
Cotton Board Holds Annual Meeting
…on over 5,000 acres in Pointe Coupee Parish for the last 30 years. In addition to cotton, his crops include corn, soybeans, wheat, sugar cane, pecans, crawfish, and timber. He…
Not All Ag Groups Happy with Direction of NAFTA Talks
…eliminating restrictions on genetically engineered crops. The group includes the U.S. National Family Farm Coalition, Canada’s National Farmers Union and Mexico’s National Association of Rural Producers, as well as the…
Agri View: Crop Dusting Changes
…dusters”. You know what that is. A pilot who applies weed and bug killing chemicals to crops from a small airplane. Now, in the beginning it was considered a very…
Agri View: Pollination Problems for Citrus
…insect took a heavy toll on cotton crops across the nation for a century. But, in the end, persistence paid off. The boll weevil was not only controlled. It was…
A Faster, Less Costly Way to Process Walnuts
ARS engineer Zhongli Pan (right) and post docs Ragab Khir (center) and Chandrasekar Venkitasamy use an infrared thermometer to check walnut temperatures. Photo by Mathew Reiff. The popularity of walnuts…
MPI Report: U.S. Agricultural Workforce Being Reshaped
…demographics of the workforce, with a decline in the number following crops from location to location and a rise in the share of older workers. Beyond looking at employer adaptations…
Early Market Benefits Apple Growers
…For example, 10 years ago there were 20,500 acres of apples in the state, and acreage stood at 28,000 in 2003. “I think with the nut crops doing so well,…
Farm Labor Shortage May Drive Produce Prices Higher
…and there aren’t enough workers to harvest those crops. Immigrant labor makes up 90 percent of the nation’s workforce that picks American crops. The immigrant population has gotten smaller in…
USDA Reports Preview
…that won’t sit well with traders.” USDA does have the potential to lower world demand because of huge South American crops. From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service….
Foreign Investment in U.S. Farmland Rising
A Chinese firm made big news in 2013 by spending $4.7 billion to acquire U.S. processor Smithfield Foods. In that same deal, the company also acquired over 146,000 acres of…