Abbie Fentress Swanson

Field Notes: Marking the fifth anniversary of the Postville, Iowa raid

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:20:29 +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.

Field Notes: 'The Midwest Farmer's Daughter'

Abbie Fentress Swanson and Bill Wheelhouse — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:52:32 +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 Corn, Fickle Weather Makes For Uncertain Yields

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:25:00 +0000

Last year's drought wreaked havoc on farmers' fields in much of the Midwest, cutting crop yields and forcing livestock producers to cull their herds. This spring, the rain that farmers needed so badly in 2012 has finally returned. But maybe too much, and at the wrong time.

It's almost the end of April, which is prime time to plant corn.

Gluten-free by popular demand

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:18:37 +0000

Six months ago, Kara Welter drastically changed her diet by eliminating food that contains wheat, rye or barley.

“I don’t eat gluten,” said Welter, a 41-year-old marketing executive in Kansas City. “I happened to just try it because I was having stomach issues for years. And it turns out within three days, I stopped having stomach issues.”

Welter’s gluten decision stemmed from what she read online. Medical tests showed that she did not have a gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, the disorder that causes the immune system to reject the gluten.

Field Notes: Using drones to capture a prairie burn in Missouri

Abbie Fentress Swanson and Scott Pham — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:17:43 +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.

MU gets USDA grant to help farmers build resilience to drought

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:22:58 +0000

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will announce that it will fund a University of Missouri project focused on building drought resiliency through soil health.

MU scientist plays key role in new GE salmon

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:36:22 +0000

Kevin Wells has been genetically engineering animals for 24 years.

“It’s sort of like a jigsaw puzzle,” said Wells recently as he walked through his lab at the University of Missouri - Columbia. “You take DNA apart and put it back together in different orders, different orientations.”

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?

BIFAD meeting focuses on agriculture research in Missouri and abroad

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:11:56 +0000

The Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) heard about University of Missouri (MU) research on Friday on subjects such as genetically-modified cassa

GMO labeling laws on deck in the Midwest

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:16:53 +0000

Just south of Hermann, Mo., Swiss Meat and Sausage Co. processes 2 million pounds of meat a year -- everything from cattle to hogs to buffalo to elk.

And everything gets a label.

“No antibiotics added, raised without added hormones, all natural, minimally processed," Glenn Brandt, the production manager for Swiss Meat, reads from a hefty roll of hickory smoked beef sausage stickers.

What this label does not indicate, however, is whether or not the sausage contains genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.