Tyson, which has warned that ethanol production will lead to higher food prices around the world, said the price of its products increased 13. Sales volumes were down overall, primarily as a result of planned production cuts and the impact of price increases, said Richard Bond, chief executive. ADM has benefited over the past year from increasing demand for ethanol, which is currently blended into around 5 per cent of US gasoline production. The diversion of corn for ethanol production, on...

The House committee wants the produce industry to reach an agreement before the House votes on the farm bill. Key to the deal was a method for labeling pork from pigs born in Canada that are fattened on corn in Iowa and other states, and for beef from Mexican- or Canadian-born calves. Congress passed a labeling law in 2002, but its implementation was delayed for all but seafood because of objections by meatpackers, retailers and some producers. Lawrence said it's too soon to tell whether...

Increased retail pork prices likely reflect the higher cost of marketing meat products, with much of the cost increases probably accounted for by higher energy prices. The total pork price spread increased almost 1 percent from the same period a year ago, with most of that increase attributable to a wider wholesale-to-retail component of the supply chain. Lower second-half exports and larger supplies are expected to keep hog prices about even with second-half prices of 2006. It appears...

As interest in the certification increased, the challenge for us was to write a standard that was appropriate for producers across the country, operating at all scales, while maintaining the same high expectations for animal welfare, labor conditions and environmental stewardship. More and more people want to know where their food is coming from and how it s being produced and every new story that breaks in the newspaper is pushing them towards foods that meet independent, third-party...

Five Kent State University students unearthed these clues -- and a surprisingly humanlike set of bones -- after troweling layers of dirt, tearing out roots and sifting away rocks in the brush behind Linda Spurlock's home. This summer, after two weeks of studying biological profiling, the students searched out the sites (based on strange vegetation, odd depressions and a few hints) and got digging. Two years ago, to prepare for the five-week upper-level anthropology class, professor...