Crop insurance and disaster payments from the federal government can help if damage occurs, but even then farmers say they don't totally recoup their losses. By then, a farmer has already invested in most of the growing process. Disaster aid for farmers is usually offered as a short-term program after a tropical storm drowns crops or a drought dries them up, for example, Weigle said. The federal government has tried to get out of the business of disaster payments by encouraging more...

Gaul Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, May 4, 2007; Page A04 Private companies are taking advantage of a poorly designed crop insurance program for farmers to reap "excessive" profits while taxpayers absorb most of the costs and risks, investigators told a House committee yesterday. Gaul Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, May 4, 2007; Page A04 Private companies are taking advantage of a poorly designed crop insurance program for farmers to reap "excessive" profits while taxpayers...

Rainy weather delays some corn planting by Michigan farmers. But farmers still have concerns about the effect of the weather and insects. Kaatz, who specializes in field crops for a six-county area that includes St. PORT HURON -- Rainy weather in early May has given some Michigan farmers a slow start on this year's corn crop. Above-average rainfall in the area this has delayed planting corn and soybeans for some farmers, said Phil Kaatz, director of the Michigan State University Extension...

Tyson and ConocoPhillips say they are using a process to come up with a renewable diesel that burns cleaner than traditional biodiesel made from vegetable oils and animal fats. Biodiesel companies and their political allies are lining up to shut down plans by Tyson Foods and ConocoPhillips to produce and market diesel made from beef, pork and poultry fat. They don't expect to add jobs or new facilities for the undertaking. Biodiesel Companies In Opposition To Tyson Effort. Opponents of the...

If dry weather in Russia and Ukraine continues and harms the sugar beet crop, 'they'll have to increase imports. The price of sugar has fallen 42 percent in the past year on expanding production and surplus. Raw-sugar demand in Russia, the biggest importer, rose as the domestic white sugar price jumped. Brazil uses sugarcane to produce ethanol and higher energy prices make biofuels more attractive alternatives to gasoline. Adams said the correlation between sugar and energy prices is...