Articles on Agriculture

Includes agribusiness, alternative energy, animal agriculture, biofuels, biomass energy, crop yields, farm consolidation, genetically modified foods, organic foods, policy, runoff, urban farming, and weather trends.

Deere Economist Shows Optimism
Quad-City Times, January 27, 2012
With commodity prices steadily high, demand for food in developing economies growing, and farmland values at record levels, Midwest farmers are poised to have another excellent year in 2012, said J.B. Penn, chief economist at Deere & Co.

Dairy Iowa Working to Strengthen Vital Industry
Agri News, January 26, 2012
Dairy Iowa is the new name for the Dairy Outlook initiative, which has been under way since last spring. The initiative is an attempt to strengthen the state's dairy industry, said Larry Shover, who chairs the effort.

New Federal Planting Map Reflects Warming
Time Magazine, January 25, 2012
It's the first time since 1990 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has updated the map and much has changed. Nearly entire states, such as Ohio, Nebraska and Texas, are in warmer zones.

Urban Gardens: The Future of Food?
Salon.com, January 21, 2012
“The people who are idealizing urban farming have a choice — a choice between grocery stores and greenmarkets, between cars and bicycles,” says Richard Longworth, a senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Last year Longworth wrote a provacative piece for Good magazine titled “Forget Urban Farms. We Need a Walmart,” blasting the idea that such farms can spur an economy like traditional businesses can.

Commodities Boom Fragile, Investment Adviser Warns
Des Moines Register, January 20, 2012
Midwest farmers shouldn’t assume that Wall Street will be in love with agricultural commodities forever, a New York investment adviser told the Iowa Land Investment Expo on Friday.

DNR Begins Transition of Farm Field Into Grassland
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 18, 2012
Later this year, DNR crews will plant additional acres with native plants and restore about 18 acres of wetlands and ponds that had been drained for agriculture.

Minnesota Launches Mississippi River Cleanup Effort
Star Tribune, January 17, 2012
Minnesota will be the nation's first test site for a federal program designed to stem the flow of agricultural pollution strangling some of the country's great bodies of water, including Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River.

Biofuels Will Fly High, U.S. Officials Predict
Chicago Tribune, January 17, 2012
The administration's strategy mirrors longtime government policies that subsidize farmers. It relies heavily on providing grants, loan guarantees and tax breaks to build biofuel refineries and research centers; paying farmers to switch from growing traditional feedstocks to nonfood biofuel-related production; and providing funding for biofuel producers to purchase the feedstock, Vilsack said.

Bad News For Decatur, IL, As ADM Plans Cuts
Changing Gears (WBEZ 91.5), January 11, 2012
The CEO of one of Decatur, Illinois’ largest private employers, Archer Daniels Midland, said Wednesday the agribusiness giant would be cutting 1,000 jobs, about three percent of its overall workforce.

Farmland Prices Rising in Michigan, Nationwide
Lansing State Journal, January 9, 2012
Michigan's rising farmland values mirror increases in other parts of the country. The Great Lakes region as a whole saw an increase of 9.3 percent in 2011 to an average price per acre of $3,650.

U.S.-Brazil Ethanol Swap Seen in '12
Des Moines Register, January 6, 2012
Last year, Midwest ethanol producers shipped an estimated 250 million gallons of their product to Brazil, which ran short of the biofuel for its domestic market. Production in Brazil has fallen amid high sugar prices and a succession of poor harvests.

December 2011

EPA: Ethanol Production Expected to Grow in 2012
DesMoinesRegister, December 31, 2011

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday said ethanol production in 2012 should reach 15.2 billion gallons, an increase of about 1.25 billion gallons from this year. The agency’s 2012 targets for renewable biofuels, however, shows non-corn ethanol made from crop residue, grasses or wood chips falling short of the goals set in the 2007 federal law mandating biofuel use.

Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform Dedicates a Decade of Support to Migrant Workers
Agri-View, December 29th, 2011
Because immigration regulation is an emotional topic for many associated with it, reform has seen difficult paths through Capitol Hill. The Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform was formed in 2001 to help speed the process by informing politicians of the implications of certain regulations.

Farming Luring More Young People
Huffington Post, December 21, 2011
While fresh demographic information on U.S. farmers won't be available until after the next agricultural census is done next year, there are signs more people in their 20s and 30s are going into farming: Enrollment in university agriculture programs has increased, as has interest in farmer-training programs.

Detroit Start-Ups Strike Gold with Compost
Detroit News, December 20, 2011
In the age of urban farming, organic compost made from manure is a valuable commodity.

Agriculture Poised for Growth in Iowa
Daily Globe, December 19, 2011
Iowa leads the nation in corn, soybean and hog production. The state is positioned well in the agricultural export market, producing more corn than Canada produces grain, and producing more soybeans than China, where soybean production began. Meanwhile, companies like John Deere, Titan and Firestone are making new investments in Iowa.

Survey: Farmland in Iowa up 32.5% in Value
Des Moines Register, December 15, 2011
Iowa farmland owners are seeing a boom in land values that their city cousins can only gape at with envy.The annual Iowa State University farmland value survey released Wednesday showed a 32.5 percent increase over 2010 to a record $6,708 per acre.

A Bubble Down on the Farm?
Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2011
The big question mark hanging over the farm economy is whether a bubble is building in Midwest cropland. Prices have doubled over the past five years in states such as Nebraska and Indiana. Part of what has economists and rural bankers on edge is that Midwest farm prices are climbing at rates last seen in the go-go 1970s, the period that set the stage for the farmland bust of the 1980s.

Wine Industry Succeeds in Recession-Weary Michigan
Fosters.com, December 11, 2011
...a state thirsting for good economic news is toasting the success of an up-and-coming industry: winemaking. Vineyards and tasting rooms are springing up rapidly in Michigan, where fertile hillsides near the Great Lakes provide ideal settings for cool-weather varieties such as riesling, pinot grigio and chardonnay.

Robots that Milk Cows Make Farmers' Lives Easier
Michigan Live, December 11, 2011
Robotic milkers have been around for about two decades, popular in Europe due to a tighter labor supply, and only recently gaining traction in Michigan. An estimated 30 robots exist statewide on eight farms.

Minnesota's Farmland Bubble Continues to Inflate
Minnesota Post, December 8, 2011
Mark Steil of MPR says: “Minnesota farmland prices are rising at near record rates, according to the most recent estimate from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Federal Reserve officials say the higher prices reflect a strong agricultural economy. Some are concerned that land prices could be the next real estate bubble, but so far there's no sign of a downturn."

Corn Ethanol Will Survive Subsidy Loss, CEO Says
Star Tribune, December 7, 2011
Broin, who three decades ago began experimenting with ethanol making on his family's farm in Wanamingo, Minn., said ethanol has been priced on average 16 cents below gasoline for the past three years.

Rules to Restrict Younger Farm Workers Stir Debate
Kansas City Star, December 1, 2011
According to USDA statistics, an average of 104 children die each year as a result of a farm-related injury and more than 22,000 kids are injured.Under a set of proposed regulations, the U.S. Labor Department hopes to change that in the first rewrite of child farm labor laws in 30 years.

Wisconsin Leads the Way in Biomass Crop Planning
Agri-View, December 1, 2011
Wisconsin has positioned itself to be a national leader in planting and harvesting biomass crops while protecting and sustaining the state's precious natural resources, thanks to the recent release of voluntary, science-based biomass cropping guidelines.

November 2011

High Crop Prices a Threat to Nature?
Twin Cities Star Tribune, November 28, 2011
Experts say 2012 is likely to be a tipping point for conservation across the Upper Midwest. Some 300,000 acres in Minnesota -- one fifth of the land now set aside through the CRP -- will be up for grabs as federal contracts come up for renewal.

Is U.S. Farm Boom Sitting on an Ethanol Bubble?
Reuters, November 20, 2011
Grain farmers in the Midwest may want to pinch themselves. In recent years they have been buoyed by a dream scenario. Record high prices. Record high profits. Record high farmland values. Near record production. Farm debts paid off. But can it last?

Rise in Farmland Values to Slow
Bloomberg News, November 10, 2011
Farmland values in the U.S. Midwest will continue to increase but at a slower pace than this year, Michael Duffy, an Iowa State University agricultural economist, said Wednesday.

A New Farming System Tempts Urbanites with Promises of Big Bucks
Medill Reports, November 9, 2011
Some city dwellers have hung up their corporate suits and pulled on their work boots as they make their way back to the farm. A recent trend shows younger families preferring open spaces to high rises. But is it possible to farm inside city limits and make a decent living? It is, say advocates of a certain type of high-intensity urban farming called SPIN.

Michelle Obama Urges Mayors to Adopt Chicago’s Food-Desert Fight
Bloomberg Businessweek, November 9, 2011
Michelle Obama returned to her hometown yesterday to implore mayors across the U.S. to follow the lead of Chicago, which has shrunk the size of its so-called food deserts, where families can’t easily buy healthy foods.

WI Farmers: Saving Money and Helping the Environment
Public News Service, November 9, 2011
Increasing numbers of Wisconsin farmers are cutting their power bills and reducing their carbon footprints by switching to alternative sources of energy.

USDA Hears 'Buy Local' Lessons
Wilmington News Journal, November 7, 2011
National, Midwest and state officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development agency met Monday with Energize Clinton County (ECC), a recent recipient of a $48,500 federal grant, in connection with the agency’s focus on regional initiatives to boost economic conditions in rural areas.

U of M Researchers Join Effort to Help Cold-Climate Wine Industry Thrive
Hutchinson Leader, November 2, 2011
Researchers from the University of Minnesota are using a new $2.5 million grant from the USDA to lead a multi-state research team tackling obstacles in vineyards, wineries, tasting rooms and tourism to bring cold-hardy grapes to a wider market.

Regional Disputes Weigh on Farm Bill Talks
Des Moines Register, November 1, 2011
Lawmakers missed a self-imposed deadline Tuesday for having a new farm bill as they worked to resolve regional differences among farmers in how their crops would be subsidized.

October 2011

Can we Feed Seven Billion People?
Huffington Post UK, October 28, 2011
Rising per capita incomes in the emerging world means diets are changing: more people are eating meat and consuming milk, cheese and other dairy products. To rear the livestock requires more grain and oil seeds. There is also increasing demand for crops as the feedstock for a growing biofuels sector.

Spike in Farmland Values Favors Large Operations, Spooks Lenders
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 26, 2011
Farmland values have doubled over the past decade, as commodity prices have soared and net incomes along with them. In some areas of the Midwest, farmland values have jumped as much as 25 percent in the past year. Auctions, which have become a preferred method of buying and selling land, are turning into spectacles.

Buy-Local Movement Helping Michigan Farmers Survive
Detroit Free Press, October 25, 2011
Grand Rapids-based Meijer announced this summer that it will increase by 5% the amount of fruits and vegetables it sources from Midwest farms, equaling a $63-million investment this year, while Wal-Mart plans to double the amount of locally grown (defined as "within a state") produce it sells domestically to 9% by the end of 2015.

Crop Scientists Now Fret About Heat Not Just Water
Reuters, October 24, 2011
Crop scientists in the United States, the world's largest food exporter, are pondering an odd question: could the danger of global warming really be the heat?

US Agriculture Secretary Says Next Farm Bill Must Improve Disaster Aid, Funding for Research
Associated Press, October 24, 2011
Lawmakers working on the next Farm Bill need to find an effective way to provide aid to farmers affected by natural disasters, increase funding for agricultural research and continue important conservation programs, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday.

There’s a World of Interest in South Dakota’s Dairies
Brookings Register, October 20, 2011
For many families facing dense populations and bureacratic red tape in their home countries, the solution is to create or purchase a dairy in South Dakota.

Pioneer Sues Monsanto Over Patent
Des Moines Register, October 19, 2011
Pioneer and its parent company, DuPont, accuse Monsanto of patent infringement on a process used to defoliate plants. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Des Moines, says former Pioneer scientists are now working for the St. Louis company.

Report: Farm Runoff Declining Near Great Lakes
Zanesville Times Recorder, October 17, 2011
Farmers are making significant cutbacks in erosion of soil and nutrients into the Great Lakes, where runoff is suspected of being a leading contributor to rampant growth of algae that damages water quality, a new U.S. Department of Agriculture report said.

University of Minnesota Grant Backs Not-So-Nutty Idea to Make Hazelnuts Pay as Crop
Twin Cities Pioneer Press, October 17, 2011
The University of Minnesota was awarded a $904,000 USDA grant Friday to develop "a viable bush-type hazelnut industry in the Upper Midwest."

EPA says Will Not Tighten Dust Rule for Farms
Reuters, October 17, 2011
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday it will not tighten controls on dust particles on farms when it sends the rule to the White House for its regular five-year review.

Iowa Innovation: Embrace AG - or Lose a Chance to Grow
Des Moines Register, October 15, 2011
Instead of running from agriculture, Iowans — especially urban Iowans — need to wrap their arms and minds around it in a new, bold way. Because if we don’t, others will, and we will lose a huge opportunity. In fact, some areas are leaping ahead in the agricultural bioscience revolution.

Pork Producers Hail Free Trade Agreement
Des Moines Register, October 13, 2011
Pork producers in Iowa and nationwide cheered the passage by Congress Wednesday night of free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.

DNR to Review Dairy Water Use
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 13, 2011
The Department of Natural Resources said Thursday it will reconsider a key permit for a large dairy farm proposed in Adams County after the agency received an analysis by a University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point hydrogeologist who concluded the farm is likely to reduce local water supplies.

Editorial: Some Lessons in the Value of Helping World's Poorest Farmers
Des Moines Register, October 13, 2011
If you want positive proof about how relatively small investments in agricultural development assistance can pay huge dividends for both developing and donor countries, then keep your eyes on the prize — the World Food Prize, that is.

Agriculture Industry is Growing, but Can't Find White Collar Workers
Michigan Radio, October 11, 2011
A large group within the agriculture industry -- white collar workers at agri-business companies -- is getting ready to retire soon. There is concern that a new generation of workers is not ready to replace those workers getting ready to leave.

When the Uprooted Put Down Roots
New York Times, October 9, 2011
New Roots, with 85 growers from 12 countries, is one of more than 50 community farms dedicated to refugee agriculture, an entrepreneurial movement spreading across the country.

New Crops and Farming Practices Crucial to Feed a Warming World
Medill Reports, October 6, 2011
Faced with the potentially devastating impact of climate change on crops, scientists are calling for an immediate push to develop new plant strains and farming techniques.