The Board of Agriculture unanimously approved the rules changes Friday with the intent of limiting diseases officials believe can be carried in raw milk. The charcoal color was chosen to clearly differentiate the product from standard milk and make raw milk unappealing to children. Raw milk advocates say the process removes the beverage's natural health benefits, and they want to be allowed to openly buy untreated milk. North Carolina farmers are allowed to sell raw milk only for...

This was the cut-off date when health authorities deemed it safe for beef from older cattle, mostly cows and cull bulls, to re-enter the human food chain. One of the first moves in resolving the immediate crisis was to ban all beef from cattle aged over 30 months from the food chain. Probably the best option would be to extend the scheme into 2009 to take account of the FMD outbreak, which has exacerbated the pressure to have cattle processed. He said: "We have been concerned for some time...

That's because the regular, more-controlled-diet farmed deer are fed, as well as professionally butchering, reduces the bitterness sometimes found in wild deer. That same study also said that while deer farming remains small, it is "perhaps the fastest growing industry in rural America. Today, Ahern manages a herd of more than 300 red deer, which are larger and a deeper red than the white-tailed deer that roam wild through much of North America. In an effort to save his grandfathers farm...

The Plainview couple have even taken Spanish lessons and participated in a farmers' tour to Mexico. They never set out to be global citizens, but like farmers statewide, they couldn't find enough locals willing to work long hours in less-than-fragrant cow barns. The Plainview couple have even taken Spanish lessons and participated in a farmers' tour to Mexico. They never set out to be global citizens, but like farmers statewide, they couldn't find enough locals willing to work long hours...

Right now, as far as beef cattle goes, the danger is more lack of water, but farmers are having to feed (with hay) right now because the grass is burned up and gone. Some producers are saying their corn is at least 50 percent off. No solid numbers are available yet on the exact damage to area agricultural production, Hawkins said. Basically, every aspect of agriculture has been hit hard, Hawkins said. With everything that you touch more expensive gasoline is higher, fertilizers are higher...