Agriculture

Field Notes: Looking inside plants for answers to a changing climate

Abbie Fentress Swanson and Grant Gerlock — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:00:00 +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.

USDA releases labeling rule for meat

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:52:31 +0000

Consumers may soon know more about where their meat comes from because of a long-debated change made by the US Department of Agriculture on Thursday.

Federal funds flow to rural communities

Bill Wheelhouse — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:29:36 +0000

In the small town of Staunton, Ill., the new $9 million water plant is a welcome addition. After all, when the 80-year-old facility it replaces seized up last year, the community’s 5,000 residents were without water for five days.

But for Staunton’s part-time mayor Craig Neuhaus, the plant represents more than water security. He expects the water system upgrade to help bring business to this town about 40 miles north of St. Louis.

How would you vote on Missouri’s ‘Right-to-Farm’ amendment?

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:46:58 +0000

Next year, Missouri voters will get a chance to consider a controversial constitutional amendment that would affirm the rights of farmers to engage in "modern" farming and ranching practices.

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.

Conservation acres harder to come by

Amy Mayer — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:44:31 +0000

At a basin in central Iowa’s Onion Creek Watershed, Sean McCoy pulls a state truck up near a brand-new wetland. It looks like a construction zone, with lots of bare earth.

Mo. lawmakers pass farm constitutional amendment

Marshall Griffin — Tue, 14 May 2013 21:42:45 +0000

The Missouri House and Senate have passed a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee farmers and ranchers the right to farm and ranch using "modern methods."

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.

It's tough going right now for Missouri, Illinois corn growers

Maria Altman — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:51:39 +0000

Farmers in Missouri, Illinois and much of the Midwest are having a tough time getting their corn planted.

The US Department of Agriculture says in Illinois just 7 percent of the corn crop is in the ground; while in Missouri it’s 22 percent.

Usually, nearly half of the nation’s corn has been planted by this time.

The National Corn Growers Association vice president Paul Bertels says it’s not just the rain that’s been a problem.

Who Paid For Last Summer's Drought? You Did

Daniel Charles — Wed, 01 May 2013 22:29:00 +0000

Say the words "crop insurance" and most people start to yawn. For years, few nonfarmers knew much about these government-subsidized insurance policies, and even fewer found any fault with them.