With near-perfect weather over the last year, it has been a good year for Texas pumpkin growers. Assiter notes that about 900 acres are currently planted in Floyd County, down from 2,000 acres a decade ago. This year's bottom line has been helped by less-than-ideal conditions in other parts of the country, increasing demand for the Texas crop. But even as pumpkins become more popular, the industry has become far more difficult. The specialty pumpkins include everything from luminas, which...

Share and Enjoy [?] Hoping to produce thinner waistlines, many doctors -- including the American Medical Association -- want Congress to stop subsidizing the production of foods that are high in fat and cholesterol and spend more to promote fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains that are not. That's just what the nation's doctors are doing, saying that federal lawmakers are responsible for the fact that a salad costs so much more than a Big Mac. Doctors turn attention to farm bill to fight...

Like House legislation that passed in July, the Senate measure would largely continue price supports for commodity crops such as cotton, peanuts and rice that drive the region's agriculture economy. Farm groups, who have lobbied heavily on the bill, say profit margins in the industry are small for all but the largest of producers. Although the bill would hold peanut price supports roughly flat for another five years, it includes payments for storage costs in bad years. It also would help...

By Field Maloney Posted Friday, March 17, 2006, at 1:34 PM ET A scene from Whole Foods grocery It's hard to find fault with Whole Foods, the haute-crunchy supermarket chain that has made a fortune by transforming grocery shopping into a bright and shiny, progressive experience. By Field Maloney Posted Friday, March 17, 2006, at 1:34 PM ET A scene from Whole Foods grocery It's hard to find fault with Whole Foods, the haute-crunchy supermarket chain that has made a fortune by transforming...

Many farmers this year planted cotton acreage to corn, which was bringing higher prices. Some cotton gins have caught up with their workload and shut down, but Barr said others will be running for a few more weeks. He says he knows of no problems with the crop, such as seed sprouting, though he said too much rain hindered yield potential in south Louisiana. That's well behind last year, when 92 percent already was in, but just off the five-year average. In the northeast, he said, farmers...