Jeremy Bernfeld

Senate passes farm bill

Jeremy Bernfeld — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:08:41 +0000

The U.S. Senate approved a new comprehensive farm bill Monday, its plan for everything from food and nutrition assistance to disaster aid for livestock producers to crop insurance for farmers. But before you go popping champagne corks and celebrating the creation of five-years of agricultural policy, know this: The U.S. House has yet to weigh in.

5 things you should know about the genetically modified food you’re probably eating

Jeremy Bernfeld — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:24:16 +0000

Would you feed your family genetically modified food? Chances are, you already have.

On Thursday's Central Standard, the science behind genetically modified (GMO) and genetically engineered (GE) food.

Field Notes: The aftermath of a grain explosion

Abbie Fentress Swanson and Jeremy Bernfeld — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 21:46:56 +0000

This is the latest installment of Harvest Public Media’s Field Notes, in which reporters talk to newsmakers and experts about important issues related to food production.

Who knew storing grain could be so dangerous?

When grain elevators explode

Jeremy Bernfeld — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:02:13 +0000

When the Bartlett Grain Co. elevator exploded in Atchison, Kan., in October 2011, the town’s 11,000 residents knew it immediately. People who live miles away from the elevator still talk about pictures jumping off walls.

Chad Roberts, 20, was among six people killed in the explosion, one of the deadliest workplace accidents in the last decade. The victims also included elevator employees John Burke, Ryan Federinko and Curtis Field, as well as grain inspectors Travis Keihl and Darrek Klahr. Two others were injured.

Zoe Bock, Roberts’ mother, is still grieving.

Farmers Frustrated By Farm Bill Extension

Jeremy Bernfeld — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 10:30:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene.

Farmers and ranchers across this country expected to start the year with a new farm bill in place. This is an important piece of legislation to many people. It sets agricultural policy for the next five years.

When House and Senate negotiators were working feverishly over the weekend to come to a fiscal cliff deal, word leaked that the Agriculture Committees had finally come to an agreement on new farm legislation.

Beef feedlots grapple with never-ending waste

Jeremy Bernfeld — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 20:37:15 +0000

This story on the American beef industry is part of a special reporting series from Harvest Public Media. Check out the rest of their stories at harvestpublicmedia.org.

You think you deal with a lot of bull crap? Allan Sents needs a front-end loader and a dump truck to deal with all the cattle manure he’s up against. Literally.

Field Notes: Making the most of cover crops

Jeremy Bernfeld — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 17:44:00 +0000

This is the latest installment of Harvest Public Media’s Field Notes, in which reporters talk to newsmakers and experts about important issues related to food production.

For this edition of Field Notes, Harvest Public Media's Amy Mayer spoke with Tom Kaspar, a plant physiologist at the National Lab for Agriculture and the Environment, about the importance of cover crops in how our food is grown.

Gas with more ethanol available at some pumps

Jeremy Bernfeld — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 21:02:30 +0000

Head to your local filling station and you might see a new blend of gas at the pump. After a three-year regulatory process, the Environmental Protection Agency approved E15 – gas made with 15 percent ethanol – this summer.

Most gas we pump is already blended with ethanol, sometimes it contains as much as 10 percent, but the ethanol industry fought hard to bring E15 to the market. For ethanol backers and the farmers who feed the ethanol industry, getting drivers to pump gas with 50 percent more ethanol is a big win.

Robots on the farm

Jeremy Bernfeld — Thu, 31 May 2012 23:35:07 +0000

There’s always work to be done on the farm, but often it’s the same work day, after day, after day. Parts of the job must feel a bit like an assembly line.

While it’s impossible to automate farming like many manufacturers have automated their assembly lines, using robotic technology on the farm might not be so far off.

Farm robots in the classroom

From Science Fiction To Fact, Robots Are Coming To A Farm Near You

Jeremy Bernfeld — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:51:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Usadb4bBn4k