Dole, Daschle back in the spotlight with a little less clout By William Neikirk Tribune senior correspondent Published May 31, 2007, 6:44 PM CDT WASHINGTON -- Bob Dole and Tom Daschle ambled into the Senate Agriculture Committee's hearing room one morning this week without the flourishes they enjoyed when they were kings on Capitol Hill. Dole, Daschle back in the spotlight with a little less clout By William Neikirk Tribune senior correspondent Published May 31, 2007, 6:44 PM CDT...

The federal budget is tighter than it was in 2002, when Congress last renewed the programs that pay farmers to produce certain crops, conserve the land and recover from disaster. Cotton and rice farmers in the South value the program, but some farmers in South Dakota see it as a double-edged sword - it helps drive up land prices and offers relatively little to producers west of the James River. Why not let the farmer try to stand on his own feet and let the good farmers continue to farm...

World Crises . Reuters.com. INTERVIEW-Depleted soil threatens India's top wheat region Thu 31 May 2007 6:35 AM ET By Mayank Bhardwaj KARNAL, India, May 31 (Reuters) - Fast depleting soil nutrients and a declining water table are likely to take a toll on India's top two wheat producing states, a leading farm scientist said on Thursday. INTERVIEW-Depleted soil threatens India's top wheat region Thu 31 May 2007 6:35 AM ET By Mayank Bhardwaj KARNAL, India, May 31 (Reuters) - Fast depleting...

On an early May run, Thompson sprayed the contact herbicide Gramoxone to kill growth on a local field, but some of the chemical got away and landed on nearby farmers' crops. Faries said the damage to the corn is cosmetic, though the damage to the rice could be greater. David Guethle, an agronomist for the Stoddard County University of Missouri Extension, said he hadn't been informed of the situation near Advance, but it's unlikely that Gramoxone would cause any yield loss from some stray...

Possibly glufosinate and glyphosate, herbicides that are liberally applied to crops across the US, and are absorbed by crops that are genetically engineered (transgenic or GM, genetically modified), so that they are not harmed by the weed killers while all else growing in the fields is wiped out, could be part of the problem. Possibly glufosinate and glyphosate, herbicides that are liberally applied to crops across the US, and are absorbed by crops that are genetically engineered...