Which is more important: Gaining fast approval for genetically modified seeds so they can better compete with foreign companies, or giving the public and interest groups time to learn about the planned release and possibly voice their objection to it? Under new rules soon to be put in place by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, faster approval will win out. ... Read More »
Farms
FiredUp Roundup: Farm life good for you, superbugs, Huron mail facility to close, education reform
A few items that might interest you today: Growing up on a farm is good for your immune system, according to a new study from the University of Bristol, as reported by The Rural Blog. It raises the number of T-cells a person has, which helps keep a person from developing allergies. However, your health might be compromised if the ... Read More »
Britton youth start their own garden business
Love garden produce but not the gardening? Then, Coteau Sunrise Farm has a summer bargain for you. Tom and Marcey Jones of Britton started their children on a new adventure last summer. Junior Tomi Lynn, freshman Blaze and eighth-grader Trey run a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) business that they’ve named Coteau Sunrise Farm. It is a local food system in ... Read More »
FiredUp: Agriculture No. 1 on a list of industries losing jobs
The agriculture industry is slated to lose 96,100 between now and 2020, which puts in at the top of a Bureau of Labor Statistics list of industries most likely to lose jobs in the next decade. This is not, of course, news to those in farm country: With mechanization, fewer farmers are needed, and in large part rural community populations ... Read More »
Canola is first genetically altered crop to go wild
About 80 percent of the canola growing in the ditches of North Dakota contains genes that have been modified to resist some weed killers, according to researchers from the University of Arkansas. This finding is adding fuel to the debate about “super weeds”: plants growing wild that have the characteristics of herbicide resistance, the result of either seeds spreading from ... Read More »
Record earnings, growth for North Central Farmers Elevator in 2011
According to reports in the North Central Farmers Elevator’s newsletter Solutions for Your Success (October 2011), the co-op’s last fiscal year was historic, with a record-breaking $515 million in sales volume. Profits for the fiscal year were $9.055 million, before tax. The last four months of their fiscal year saw huge volumes for the company, even with the condensed spring ... Read More »