He says it's difficult to predict the extent of the flood damage in his region, but many farmers' pocketbooks are taking a hit. The latest Iowa crop and weather report from the USDA shows the rain is making it hard to finish planting soybeans in Iowa and the harvest of the first hay crop has been delayed, too. Kay's Blog Week in Review Podcast About RSS Feeds News Categories Agriculture Business Crime & Courts Education environment & conservation fires/accidents/disasters health & medicine...

Can a new variety of corn be developed to make one plant suitable for both food and fuel? A U of M researcher won a federal grant to answer that question. U of M agronomist Rex Bernardo will spend the next three years, with the help of a $715,000 federal grant, to see whether a single corn plant can be developed to feed stomachs and stills -- to make food and ethanol. Creating a variety of sugar-rich corn with stover that could be converted to ethanol means one plant could be brought to...

corn yields 1.5 percent in the next 30 years and harm the livestock industry, according to the initial draft of the first major climate report from the Agriculture Department in five years. agriculture, rather than the computer models used in past studies, David Schimel, a lead writer of the report, said before it was released. The negative effects on crops may be mitigated somewhat by increased levels of soil-nurturing carbon dioxide, the report said. Increased temperatures are likely to...

Department of Agriculture doesn't keep track of how many farms start each year, and many of those going into business are doing so with plans that don't rely on a traditional wholesale market. And some new farmers, like the Woosters, have modeled their businesses on community-supported agriculture programs that rely on customers who pay a fixed price at the start of the season in return for a certain amount of produce. In a few weeks, they'll be transplanted from the temperature-controlled...

BY FRED GRAY, NEWS-REVIEW STAFF WRITER EAST JORDAN - Greg Niewendorp of East Jordan, like growing numbers of small farmers across Northern Michigan and the rest of the nation, is challenging state and federal agencies and the big downstate cattle industry to back off their Big Brother policies and allow farmers like him to carry on with their way of life. BY FRED GRAY, NEWS-REVIEW STAFF WRITER EAST JORDAN - Greg Niewendorp of East Jordan, like growing numbers of small farmers across...