Omnia attributed the increased headline and basic earnings to the "robust performance" of its fertilizer activities. It added that it remained focused on balancing the group's risk profile and pursuing new growth opportunities, both nationally and internationally. In the same period last year, Omnia reported headline and basic earnings a share of 181,4c a share. Fertilizer unit's performance to boost Omnia interim headline EPS. Omnia's results for the six months ended September 30 will be...

Officials at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and Central Vermont Public Service, which is helping subsidize the Boucher methane digester through its Cow Power program, said the Highgate farm appeared to be the first in the nation to employ the technology. The Boucher Family Farm expects to start construction in the spring on a methane digester that will be partly powered with crops such as hay and corn, family members said last week. Officials at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and...

Bonsai most likely first evolved in China about 2,200 years ago, then was adopted about 1,000 years later by the Japanese, who added structure and rules to the art. Truth: Even the pronunciation of bonsai draws some disagreement, as does how it's defined, its rules, the aesthetic, etc. Heinen shapes his trees to resemble memories of favorite trees or even interesting trees he spots around town. The museum is dedicated to the education, study, and of course display of bonsai and related art...

Metals, fertilizer and lumber ''dominate'' Canada's exports to China, while machinery and consumer goods account for 13 percent, Statistics Canada said in a report today. China's economic growth topped 11 percent in the three months ended September for a third straight quarter, stoking demand for metals, minerals and forest products. That's helped increase Canada's raw material exports to the country while other industries have grown at a slower pace. Hong Kong's banks, brokers and...

Converted into chemicals, the oil and gas become petrochemicals that are used to develop plastic, polyester, rubbers, detergent, and chemical fertilizers and other pesticides. The rocketing price of crude oil is not only sharply hiking the costs of fueling the car and heating the home, but is bidding up prices on the raw materials that go into goods from produce to perfume. At the same time, the push to develop ethanol as an alternative fuel through corn and similar products is inflating...