Eucker, a third-generation farmer, recently sold two-thirds of his 269-acre Hartford Orchards, adding to a growing trend of shrinking farms in Ohio. Agriculture remains Ohio s number one industry, but with costs making it increasingly difficult for family farmers like Smith to maintain their properties, grow their business and ultimately pass the farms to the next generation, the future of farming and some say Americans food supply could dwindle. Agriculture remains Ohio s number one...

Just-released figures from the national agriculture census show Ontario is home to 57,211 farms, about a quarter of all the farms in Canada and the most of any province. While Ontario's total farmland dropped, its cropland -- the total area in field crops, fruits, vegetables, sod and nursery -- rose slightly to nine million acres (3. Although Quebec surpassed Ontario in total fruit area last year, Ontario retains the largest fruit areas in Canada for peach, sour cherry, pear, grape, plum...

The good news was brought to cocoa growers in three of the country's provinces as a kick-starter of a nationwide programme aimed at sharing improved cocoa seeds to farmers to step up production and ameliorate their revenue. While the operation targeted groups of farmers in the East province, it rather focused on small holder growers in the Centre and South rpovinces where the aim was to demonstrate the important place that small holder farmers continue to occupy in the new strategy to...

Farmers are anxiously evaluating the health of locally grown fruits and vegetables as some of them open their farmers markets with spring produce. The impact of the "Easter massacre" cold snap on locally grown fruits and vegetables may not turn out to be as catastrophic as first feared, though farm market customers may notice some items late or missing. As farmers ready their markets, many find that most fruits are bouncing back from Easter's cold snap. Local growers initially feared the...

They may be returning to their childhood or standing against commercialization, but they feel empowered to shell out cash for an alternative to traditional food production. I think it should be a requirement for farmers and ranchers to sell for one season at a farmers' market. The Farmers' Market season is underway again with some having record opening day crowds this past Saturday, mostly due to the excellent weather. In the Des Moines Downtown Market, which had an astonishing 30,000...