Amidst a drought, Campbell County's farmers are clinging to hope for rain to revive their ravaged crops. Hoping for good weather is part of a farmer's life, Huck said. Huck has sold off some of his cattle to save what sparse pasture grass there is for the remaining herd. Many farmers are at a crossroads for making decisions like selling cattle early because of lack of pasture grass. And that's with special permission to harvest a neighbor's unused hay field. If it rains in the next few...

With the explosion in ethanol production (and now corn plantings) Monsanto is seeing unprecedented demand for its seeds and fertilizers, and shares have vaulted form $39 to $68 in the past 52 weeks. Monsanto will set the bar for the group this week and a miss will cause shares of the smaller companies, several of whom sport PR ratios in the 70's and 80's to implode. Monsanto is experiencing huge demand for its new disease resistant corn seeds that farmers will want to satisfy ethanol producers.

The briefing took place at a Bee Sweet Citrus packing house, which is running at partial capacity due to crop losses stemming from the devastating freeze earlier this year, according to CDI. To date, the CDI has received two freeze-related consumer complaints - one agricultural and one homeowner policy. Based upon reports from both crop and homeowners insurers, most of the homeowners claims have been settled or closed, and most of the private crop insurance claims have been settled,...

The draft standard requires the mandatory addition of folic acid to wheat flour for bread-making within the prescribed range of 200-300 micrograms per 100 grams of flour. The review will consider health impacts and the effectiveness of the initiative, the actual cost impacts on the food industry, and the adequacy of the monitoring framework. This level of fortification is expected to prevent between 14 and 49 neural tube defects in the 300-350 affected pregnancies in Australia each year,...

Genetic News (BioValley Portal) Genetic News (BioValley Portal) In the week that local American biotechnology giant Monsanto was ordered to withdraw "unsubstantiated" information about the safety of genetically modified foods, new research has cast further doubt on how these products are approved for sale and consumption. In the week that local American biotechnology giant Monsanto was ordered to withdraw "unsubstantiated" information about the safety of genetically modified foods, new...