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Top Producer brings you exclusive audio analysis of USDA's November Cattle on Feed report. Listen to University of Missouri livestock economist Ron Plain his analysis of the October cattle numbers. 

CFTC's Commodity Futures Trading Commission's report for the week ended Nov. 18.

USDA's daily livestock slaughter report for Nov. 21.

In Rennes, studies are being conducted to combine livestock liquid manure methanization processes with a biological nitrogen removal process. The expected benefits are measured in terms of energy savings and preservation of river water quality.

New research has yielded a way to double the output of rice crops in some of the world's poorest, most distressed areas.

Counterintuitive as it may seem, those healthful phytoestrogen nutrients that consumers usually associate with fruits and vegetables also exist in foods of animal origin. After all, "phyto" means "plant." Now the first comprehensive study of phytoestrogen content in foods has identified the best sources of these nutrients.

A recent study looked at the different effects of tillage and rotation practices on peanut crops in the southern United States to determine if the rising trend towards reduced tillage would have an effect on yields and the occurrence of pests. Peanut farmers have thus far been reluctant to incorporate reduced tillage as it has not been seen as a viable practice for this particular crop.

"Waterproof" versions of popular varieties of rice, which can withstand two weeks of complete submergence, have passed tests in farmers' fields with flying colors. Several of these varieties are now close to official release by national and state seed certification agencies in Bangladesh and India, where farmers suffer major crop losses because of flooding of up to 4 million tons of rice per year. This is enough rice to feed 30 million people.

A "biomass plant should not be built" in Leon County, Fla., Edward Holifield, a retired Tallahassee physician writes in a Tallahassee Democrat opinion piece. The Florida Department of Health has "

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is concerned about reports detailing possible inhumane treatment of turkeys at poultry-breeding facilities in West Virginia. The AVMA expects that the alleged abuse, which was captured on video, will be fully investigated. If the allegations prove to be true, it is our hope that immediate actions are taken against those responsible, including consideration of criminal animal-abuse charges.

A new way of pinpointing where zinc pollution in the atmosphere comes from could improve pollution monitoring and regulation, says research out this week in the journal Analytical Chemistry. Imperial College London researchers say their work is a major breakthrough as current methods for analysing zinc pollution only measure pollution in the atmosphere; they do not trace it back to its source.

Effective conservation strategies of farmland biodiversity depend on the type of relationship between biodiversity and land-use intensity. To date the shape of this relationship is unknown. On 130 grasslands and 141 arable fields in six European countries we linked plant species richness with nitrogen input as an indicator of land-use intensity. On both field types, plant species richness declined exponentially with increasing land-use intensity.

Flash floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States, and because of their unpredictability they're the leading weather-related cause of death for Americans. They usually arrive with little or no warning, but a Tel Aviv University researcher is trying to predict where and when they will occur - using lightning. Prof.

A Call for Help: Your Input is Needed in a Nationwide Survey on the Problem of Unwanted Horses. The problem of unwanted horses is being studied through a nationwide initiative of the Unwanted Horse Coalition (UHC) with help from equine associations, veterinarians, breeders, state and local law enforcement, horse owners, rescue/retirement facilities, and other facilities using horses. The first step is an online survey — and everyone with an interest in the welfare of horses is encouraged to respond at http://survey.ictgroup.com/uhcsurvey/.

The 7th World Congress on alternatives and animal use in the life sciences will take place in Rome, Italy, Aug. 30 - Sept. 3, 2009. The congress was given the motto "Calling on Science" in order to emphasize that scientific progress today goes hand in hand with progress towards the reduction, refinement and replacement of experimental animals (the 3-R's). http://www.aimgroup.eu/2009/WC7/

Removing corn from animal feed did not change meat flavor Bureau of Land Management proposals for dealing with wild horses Kansas State Research on drug interactions in horses after surgery Brucellosis stories: Test still required in Texas No disease in Wyoming herds Foot and Mouth outbreak in Uganda

WTOP.com reports German wild pig populations are up because of moderate weather and plentiful food. http://wtop.com/?nid=456&sid=1521435

The Washington Post reports Madeleine Pickens made known her intentions to adopt most or all of the 30,000 horses and burros kept in federal holding pens. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111703680.html?hpid=topnews

Interactive database that contains statistics on four feed grains (corn, grain sorghum, barley, and oats), foreign coarse grains (feed grains plus rye, millet, and mixed grains), hay, and related items. Tables previously published annually in the Feed Yearbook are available and updated continuously as data are added to the database. Custom queries also allow users to retrieve historical data.

This product brings together 1960-2008 data on fertilizer consumption in the United States by plant nutrient and major selected product, as well as consumption of mixed fertilizers, secondary nutrients, and micronutrients. Share of crop area receiving fertilizer and fertilizer use per receiving acre, by nutrient, are presented for the major producing States for corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat. Additional data include fertilizer farm prices and indices of wholesale fertilizer price.

This data product contains statistics on wheat - including the five classes of wheat: hard red winter, hard red spring, soft red winter, white, and durum - and rye. Includes data published in the monthly Wheat Outlook and previously annual Wheat Yearbook. Data are monthly, quarterly, and/or annual depending upon the data series.

This data set provides monthly average price values, and the differences among those values, at the farm, wholesale, and retail stages of the production and marketing chain for selected cuts of beef, pork, and broilers. In addition, retail prices are provided for beef and pork cuts, turkey, whole chickens, eggs, and dairy products.

Eighty-nine percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2007, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (11.1 percent) were food insecure at least some time during the year. About one-third of food insecure households (4.1 percent of all U.S. households) had very low food security—meaning that the food intake of one or more adults was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because the household lacked money and other resources…

“Growing up I was made to believe that roast breadfruit and saltfish was the national dish of St Vincent and the Grenadines”: Abeni says that local culinary fare is facing some competition.

The first of its kind, a Japanese blog called Sobolog (祖母ログ) [ literally “Grannylog”] crosses three generations, written by a nephew living in Tokyo in collaboration with her mother (who records the facts), presenting the daily life of her funky granny named Hide (82 y.o.) living in Gunma Prefecture. In this blog, the three Nagashima women share with the readers the granny's recipes, her travel accounts and her life in the countryside, uploading pictures nearly every day about Hide-san's bucolic living.

For over a month, the Chapada Diamantina National Park, in Bahia, has been burning relentlessly. According to Brazil's environmental agency, 50 percent of the national park's 1,520 km² have burned, which represents 75,000 hectares of forest (roughly the size of New York City). Nearly 500 people - firefighters and volunteers - are battling the blazes, caused by illegal fires supposedly started by ranchers clearing land for pasture. Only heavy rains will stop the flames, but these are not expected until the end of the month. If the causes are known, and it is not the first time, Paulo…

“Growing up in a semi-rural, agricultural area of Trinidad, every household would make garden. Some larger than others, depending on the availability of land. Neighbours shared peas, beans, fruits, trade dasheen bush for avocados, encouraging diversity without having to plant everything yourself”: Lifespan of a Chennette highlights “the joy that you can get from the act of picking something from the backyard and taking it straight to the pot.”

Adding to the woes of Myanmar farmers are rats which are invading fields in West Myanmar

Purdue and Michigan State universities will host the 2008 Michiana Crops Conference from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST Dec. 5 at the Blue Gate Restaurant in Shipshewana, Ind.

Check houseplant leaves for brown, dry edges, which indicate too little relative humidity in the house. Increase humidity by running a humidifier, grouping plants or using pebble trays.

We continue to receive numerous inquiries about bagworms on landscape plants, especially evergreens.

Nothing beats a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner except comparing it to what it costs to eat out, said a Purdue University agricultural economist.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a new grape variety called Improved Chancellor which is resistant to the herbicide 2, 4-D. The gene was discovered by USDA in a soil bacterium. According to University of Illinois, the gene has been successfully transferred to grape cells. Currently, the grape plants have only been raised in greenhouses. The researchers are hoping to have permission to move the research outside by the spring of 2009. They are currently testing the grapes for toxins that would prevent harvesting for fresh or wine sales. The herbicide 2, 4-D, which is…

I gave a ‘Soil Evaluations for Septic Systems’ presentation to the Ohio Environmental Health Association on November 14, 2008. The presentation covered the process of conducting a soil evaluation for a septic system, as well as review of key concepts in soil science which affect household wastewater treatment (such as bulk density, porosity, etc). The presentation is available for download and use here: Posted in Powerpoint Presentations   Tagged: Ohio Environmental Health Association, septic system, soil, soil compaction, soil density, soil investigation for septic…

All Ohio grain and horticulture crop farmers who are looking for information on organic crop production are encouraged to attend this workshop. “Organics 101: An Introduction to Organic Crop Production” will present the latest and best recommendations for organic farming.  The program will include OSU researchers and organic farmers who together will present the latest and best recommendations for transitioning to organic crop production. Participants will learn about the organic certification standards and the certification process, soil biology, crop rotations and pest…

This article is devoted to one of the most problematic weeds in soybeans: marestail. Marestail is an upright growing plant and can reach 4 feet if not mowed or controlled. Marestail begins as a basal rosette similar to other winter annuals. Following the rosette stage, Marestail expereinces a stage of rapid vertical growth refered to as ‘bolting’. The leaves are 3 - 4 inches in length, and have widely toothed margings. And the stem of marestail is simple and unbranched, and covered with hair. In a recent fall weed-scouting project, I noted marestail in nearly 20% of the soybean…

Dr. John Street, OSU Turf Researcher, wrote an excellent article in the Buckeye Turf notes recently on fall fertilization of turfgrass: The late-season fertilization strategy is based on applying nitrogen (N) fertilizer in the late fall (mid November to early December period depending on temperature). Ideally, N should be applied just around the time that top growth has significantly stopped or ceased. N applied at this time should extend the greening of the turf longer into the late fall without additional top growth, so timing is critical. Not too early but not too late. The extended…

In farms, as on Wall Street, prices drop Farmers whose families have been working the land for generations should be called in to advise new ...

Gold prices advance, benefit from safe-haven buying; agriculture futures fall Gold prices advance, benefit from safe-haven buying; agriculture futures fall Sara Lepro November ...

Lower fuel and food prices will relieve millions KABUL, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Food and fuel prices have declined slightly over the past month, prompting ...

Just last week, I listed and discussed the attributes of a that I had devised, but failed to provide a computation of its value or ...

New Zealand's dairy farmers enjoyed boom times in the last milking season with the industry's 10,724 farmers receiving their highest payout since ...

Autumn is pearl harvest season and the roadsides around Shanxia Lake are heaped with mounds of mussels stripped of their bounty. The pearl growers of China are, however, unhappy. From the workers ...

Posted on: Friday, 21 November 2008, 13:42 CST University of Alberta research has yielded a way to double the output of rice crops in some of the world's poorest, most distressed areas.Jerome Berni...

GROSSE POINTE FARMS -- Two Topeka, Kan., women and a 14-year-old girl hurled threats of condemnation in the cold and wind outside Grosse Pointe's Christ Church today in response to the congregation's ...

CAIRO: The main concern of all countries around the world was to be immune from the effects of the mortgage crisis that erupted in the United States and threatened its financial accounts with bankrupt...

CAIRO: Two officials from the Ministry of Agriculture were found guilty of importing cancerous pesticides into the Egyptian market, bribery, and squandering public money. One MP told Daily News Egypt ...

Weil Brothers-Cotton Inc. said Friday it will shut down its 130-year-old cotton brokerage offices in the United States and England but would fulfill its outstanding contracts before closing.

Judging by Dayna Neumann's pantry, Campbell Soup Co. may turn the U.S. recession into rising sales, just as it did in the last two contractions.

Fitch Ratings assigns an 'AA-' rating to the tax increment finance authority of the City of Battle Creek, Michigan's $4 million tax increment bonds, series 2008 scheduled for negotiated sale on or about the ...

Jim Cramer and Doug Kass debate the direction of the consumer staples. Jim Cramer 11/20/2008 6:50 AM EST This blog post originally appeared on RealMoney on Nov.

Ahot new restaurant opens, the local buzz helps fill the seats and everyone gushes over the "fresh, innovative menu" and "expert, attentive service." Six months later the place seems different, off its game.

Patsy Nathe is awarded for dedication to agriculture industryTampabay.com, FL - 37 minutes agoShe threw a lot of her energy into agriculture education, as well — whether it was recording spots for beef commercials, doing cooking demonstrations, Pasco's Nathe Named Woman Of Year In Agriculture Tampa Tribuneall 3 news articles

Spiegel OnlineBrussels and the CucumberWall Street Journal - 2 hours agoSo declares Mariann Fischer Boel, the European Union's commissioner for agriculture and rural development, so let's cue the drumroll. As of next July, In Europe, Refinements to a Subsidy System Often Faulted for Big New York TimesEU farm ministers agree to reform agriculture policy XinhuaEU farm ministers agree on reform The Associated PressIrish Times - Helsingin Sanomatall 164 news articles

China Organic Agriculture Announces Engagement of China America WELT ONLINE, Germany - 3 hours agoChina Organic Agriculture, Inc. (OTCBB: CNOA - News), a diversified food products company capitalizing on China's consumer revolution, today announced that

Agriculture Business Expands Despite Weak EconomyKWCH, KS - 4 hours agoRick Hanson, President Great Plains Manufacturing says, "It is something we understand, agriculture does run though cycles, we've been though many of them

Tasks for Obama's ag sec: School food, subsidy capReuters - 4 hours agoBy Charles Abbott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for US agriculture secretary will face daunting tasks ranging from

Emphasizing the state’s need to provide core services during the current economic crisis, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today acted on a supplemental appropriations bill (Senate Bill 1103) passed by the General Assembly to restore $175.9 million in funding for several reductions made earlier this year. With the Governor’s action, funding will be available for substance abuse treatment centers, Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) frontline staff, the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) reduced fare subsidy and other core services.

I would like to send my sincere congratulations to our new Senate President, State Senator John Cullerton, and our new Republican Leader of the Senate, State Senator Christine Radogno. I look forward to working with them both in finding ways to help solve some of the biggest problems facing our state today.

After two days of unprecedented collaboration among 800 attendees from five U.S. states and states and provinces from countries around the world at the Governors’ Global Climate Summit in California, hosted by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, co-host Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today will sign the Global Climate Solutions Declaration to reduce greenhouse gases worldwide, along with representatives from among the world’s greatest greenhouse gas emitters.

The federal government today approved Governor Rod R. Blagojevich’s request for federal assistance to local governments in nine counties for extraordinary expenses incurred while responding to and recovering from severe flooding that struck the area in mid-September. The counties approved include Bureau, Cass, Greene, Kendall, Macoupin, Montgomery, Scott, Will and Woodford.

Taking his commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the international stage, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich will today join California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and leaders from the U.S., Brazil and Indonesia to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to reduce deforestation, which accounts for around 20 percent of the world’s carbon emissions.

Spring may not seem the right time to be thinking about the virtues of fall calving, but if you live in the tall-fescue zone of the U.S., you should be...

It was a lofty title for a program -- the Pennsylvania Dairy Profitability Forum -- but the take-home message was well-grounded: Get better first.

Live cattle closed lower on the day on moderate to active volume. Cattle opened lower on account of further liquidation from index funds. Futures firmed up after midday boxed beef was sharply lower on the day with choice at 155.52 down 2.27 and select at 145.13 down 1.02. Load count was moderate.

National Hog Farmer Newsletter Provides pork producers in the United States and Canada with weekly analysis of items that will impact their business. Subscribe

Pork exports for September 2008 were up 41 percent from a year earlier. As was expected, China plus Hong Kong purchases from the U.S. declined by 17 percent from September of 2007.

A drug based on a chemical found in garlic can treat diabetes types I and II when taken as a tablet, a study in the new Royal Society of Chemistry journal Metallomics says. When Hiromu Sakurai and colleagues from the Suzuka University of Medical Science, Japan, gave the drug orally to type I diabetic mice, they found it reduced blood glucose levels. (Source: Nutrition/Agriculture News From Medical News Today)

In lean economic times, we may need to tighten our food budgets, but it is important to do so wisely. Processed foods are definitely cheap. A dollar buys 1,200 calories of cookies or potato chips, but only 250 calories of carrots; or 875 calories of soda, but only 170 calories of orange juice. Filling up on cookies and soda, however, is a prescription for weight gain, cardiac disease, and other health problems. (Source: Nutrition/Agriculture News From Medical News Today)

A low kilojoule diet made up of higher protein meals improves the ability to burn fat among overweight and obese people and may be the key to shedding excess kilos, according to new Australian research. The study, in Nutrition & Dietetics published by Wiley-Blackwell, found higher protein meals may have a subtle fat-burning effect in overweight or obese people. (Source: Nutrition/Agriculture News From Medical News Today)

Osteoporosis is a growing concern among breast cancer survivors and their doctors, because certain cancer drugs can cause bone loss. But a new study has found that cancer drugs aren't the only culprits. Among 64 breast cancer patients referred to a bone health clinic, 78 percent had at least one other cause of bone loss, including vitamin D deficiency, excessive calcium excretion in urine and an overactive parathyroid gland. (Source: Nutrition/Agriculture News From Medical News Today)

Nicotinamide (VitB3), a vitamin found in common foods like meats, nuts, grains and cereals, may provide the next advance in skin cancer prevention, according to new research from the University of Sydney. Presenting the results of a trial to the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia's Annual Scientific Meeting today (19 Nov), Associate Professor Diona Damian said tests had shown the vitamin prevented damage from ultraviolet (UV) radiation by protecting the immune system. (Source: Nutrition/Agriculture News From Medical News Today)

With a $500,000 “genius grant” awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Will Allen of Growing Power, in Milwaukee, hopes to take his farm off the grid.

The idea of a “vertical farm” has captured the imagination of several architects and city planners who envision skyscrapers as farms.

A growing number of people are skipping out on grocery stores and instead going right to the source by buying shares of farms in essence hiring personal farmers.

For years, city dwellers have raised fruits and vegetables to feed their families, but now more and more of them are growing food to sell to a wider market.

Higher costs for staple foods could spark a national conversation about why inexpensive food is not really such a bargain after all.

Two Half Moon Bay Review reporters featured ANR experts in unrelated news stories on the same day this week. Mark Noack opened his article about growing public acceptance of "recycled" water with an anecdote from UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Paul Vossen. Vossen told the reporter that, years ago, participants on a research plot tour willingly munched on fresh vegetables that had been irrigated with treated sewage water. “Our conclusion at the end of our survey was that......

The only sustainable and organic agriculture coordinator in the UC Cooperative Extension system, Steven Quirt of the Marin County office, is an informative source for media covering local agriculture. That proved true again this week when Quirt was quoted extensively in a Marin Independent Journal story that opened seasonably with a vignette about organic turkey. By the second paragraph, the story became more of a trend piece on the growth of organic agriculture in the swanky, yet earthy......

The food writer for the Vail (Colorado) Daily, Ari LeVaux, displays an almost spiritual reverence for food in a column that included a tidbit from UC Cooperative Extension small farm advisor Richard Molinar. The story recounts LeVaux' 36-hour food tour of Italy at the conclusion of the biennial Slow Food movement gathering in Turin. LeVaux writes rapturously about the Italian food he sampled on the trip: Crescent-shaped ravioli stuffed with scallops served over split lobsters......

The headline above, also the opening lyrics of a popular 1970s folk song, is a message that is again being driven home in the wake of this week's Southern California fires. A Los Angeles Times article published today focused on the dangers of flying embers to homes even some distance away from the fire frontline. The story opened with a heart-wrenching account of Yorba Linda homeowners who thought they had done everything right: barrel tile roof, boxed eaves, brick and stucco siding,......

"Southern California is burning . . . . I've never seen anything like this!" begins a note written yesterday by Myriam Grajales-Hall, the manager of UC ANR's News and Information Outreach in Spanish program, which is headquartered at UC Riverside. "My family and I went to downtown LA yesterday, and by the afternoon, the sky was dark, the smell of smoke pervaded the city and ashes were falling everywhere. As we were coming back home in the evening, we could see flames on the hill......

South Korea's Daewoo has signed a 99-year lease for half of Madagascar's arable land, reports the Financial Times. The agreement covers 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres) — an area half the size of Belgium. Daewoo says it plans to plant corn on 1 million hectares in the arid western part of the island and 300,000 ha (740,000 acres) of oil palm on land in the tropical east, a region that is home to the bulk of Madagascar's rare rainforests. The company will produce the food for export and plans to import workers from South Africa, although a Daewoo spokesman said that the project…

Malaysia's government will for the first time grant ownership rights of land farmed by indigenous people, reports the Associated Press, but some may see the legal change as a scheme to promote oil palm expansion.

Colombian officials have re-iterated their claim that cocaine use in rich countries is driving deforestation in Colombia, reports The Guardian.

American fast food is almost entirely produced from corn according to a chemical analysis of dishes served at McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Malaysia and Indonesia ̵ countries that account for more than 85 percent of global palm oil production — will cut production in an effort to shore up collapsing palm oil prices, reports The Jakarta Post. The decline in palm oil prices is expected to slow expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, a development that will please environmentalists who blame the palm oil industry for large-scale destruction of rainforests across Southeast Asia.

There is a new film out called Food Fight that may be of interest to you.Regardless of your beliefs, if you are a farmer of any kind, you need to know what others are saying and doing as it relates to your business.  What are the trends?  What is the popular opinion? …and How does this relate to me? Even if you are a Midwest farmer (as most of my readers are) that only grows commodity corn and beans, I think the concepts and ideals discussed in Food Fight are relevant.  Since World War II, we (US Farmers) have been moving to a mono-crop culture. This is because it is easier to only raise…

“Firefighters await a tow truck at the scene of an accident Monday afternoon in East Earl Township [Pennsylvania] after a car skidded under the front of a combine with an attached corn head on Ranck Road, just south of Reservoir Road.” Credit: Vinny Tennis / Intelligencer Journal / LancasterOnline.com Link to original article.

I was down in Pueblo Colorado checking out some hydroponic green house operations yesterday for a client and thought I would share some pictures.  I am becoming increasingly interested in hydroponics.  You can grow food with no dirt, use way less water, use less land than traditional outdoor planting, produce a crop all year long, reduce your carbon foot print by delivering locally, increase margins by providing specialty products to grocers, and work indoors in a heated climate.  Hydroponic operations also can qualify as organic if you get certified.  I have said before that farmers need…

Here are some pumpkins that didn’t make the grade.  This grower was contracted to only deliver a certain quality of pumpkin, so the ones that were damaged or malformed could not be delivered.  The farmer has chosen to leave them in the field and till them back in later.  Sounds like good fertilizer/compost to me. Click the picture above to see a few more high resolution pictures.

I attended a farm auction in Clark County Ohio last weekend for a client and thought I would share some of the details.  The Elcamere Farm was a 1300-acre (mostly contiguous) farm in Harmony Township that has been in the same family for more than two centuries. A man named John Nicholson immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1783, and eventually started Elcamere Farm in the newly-created state of Ohio in 1806. John’s son Andrew Nicholson actually bought and cleared the land for the farm. Elcamere Farm grew over the years, and stayed in the Nicholson family the entire time. John…

With election day barely in our rearview mirror, our focus very much remains on who won, who lost, what passed and what didn't. While that obsession's still strong, take a look at this, a Ballot Measures Database from the National Conference of State Legislators (brought to my attention just yesterday by the Special Libraries Assocation's Government Info blog). With quick clicks in a few fields, you can easily see a list of all initiatives in one state or several, for this year or many, right on back to 1902. But you can also limit your search to measures pertaining to particular topics, like…

What is the connection between what you eat and how you feel? Does the way an animal or crop is raised impact its nutritional value? How are farming methods contributing to environmental problems and human health issues? These questions and others like them represent the crossroads of agriculture and public health, that complex interdependency between what we eat and how it is raised with our individual and collective well-being. They are the kinds of questions that seem to be popping up more and more, from the mainstream press to scientific journals and trade publications. But clearly the…

As Director of the National Agricultural Library for the last six years, Peter Young has rubbed shoulders with a lot of big wigs. He has shown off NAL to three different Secretaries of Agriculture (Veneman, Johanns and Schafer), repeatedly argued NAL's case to a host of Ag Department officials, and shaken more library directors' hands than kernals in a corn field. He has pushed for digital collections, spoken on the role of libraries in cutting-edge research, and held fast to the idea that libraries have a bright future. He is definitely a glass-half-full kind of guy, and it shows in his…

I'm turning the blog-waves over to USDA today to help get the word out about the upcoming Agricultural Outlook Forum, February 26-27, 2009, in Arlington, Virginia. This year's presenters and break-out sessions will deliver on the theme "Global Agriculture & Rural America in Transition." You'll hear scientific, policy, business and marketing perspectives on a range of ag issues, from food safety to food security, from rural America to world markets, and from conservation efforts to developments in biotechnology. The then Secretary of Agriculture will give the keynote, with an as-yet-unnamed…

It's never wise to gamble your life savings on a poker game, but if you've seen the latest food price projections, you can understand the temptation. On Friday USDA's Economic Research Service released its current forecast, and it doesn't look so good. Food prices are expected to rise 5% to 6%, despite the recent drops in oil. Maybe you don't want to hear about it. After all, you're going to know soon enough, like the next time you go buy a dozen eggs. But maybe you're the kind who needs to put it in context. If so, read on. The BBC is using real people buying real food from real stores to…

... with one of the most sustained and organic email campaigns in recent memory. Repeated tales ... excise anti-Muslim sentiment, with Will the next crop of presidential candidates learn from the lessons ...

... means, while building credibility among the truly organic products and also educating consumers. These organizations ... personal care has been developed by Whole Foods in an effort to eliminate confusion and ... and perfumes as well as detergents, textiles, food and food products. ECOCERT does not require ...

... leading eco-friendly gift shop specializing in unique organic, recycled, fair trade and handmade gifts, is ... we employ an efficient process that uses waste material and actually saves raw material cost, ...

... percent drop related to foreign exchange rates. Organic sales up 4.4 percent, with net pricing ... and volume fell 5.1 percent on weak restaurant foot traffic as more consumers ate at ...

... percent drop related to foreign exchange rates. Organic sales up 4.4 percent, with net pricing ... and volume fell 5.1 percent on weak restaurant foot traffic as more consumers ate at ...

Spring may not seem the right time to be thinking about the virtues of fall calving, but if you live in the tall-fescue zone of the U.S., you should be...

It was a lofty title for a program -- the Pennsylvania Dairy Profitability Forum -- but the take-home message was well-grounded: Get better first.

Live cattle closed lower on the day on moderate to active volume. Cattle opened lower on account of further liquidation from index funds. Futures firmed up after midday boxed beef was sharply lower on the day with choice at 155.52 down 2.27 and select at 145.13 down 1.02. Load count was moderate.

National Hog Farmer Newsletter Provides pork producers in the United States and Canada with weekly analysis of items that will impact their business. Subscribe

Pork exports for September 2008 were up 41 percent from a year earlier. As was expected, China plus Hong Kong purchases from the U.S. declined by 17 percent from September of 2007.

The loss of soil organic matter due to poor land-management practice threatens farmlands, and while the use for crop residues as feedstock for biomass ethanol and bio-based products increases, these materials no longer contribute to the health of the soil. Scientist have now developed a method of measuring soil quality to assure an adequate amount of soil organic matter, called the CQESTR model.

Earthworms can change the chemical nature of the carbon in North American forest litter and soils, potentially affecting the amount of carbon stored in forests. Scientists want to determine the earthworms' effect on forest chemistry by comparing carbon composition in forests that vary in earthworm activity.

The loss of organic matter is a threat to soil quality. Agricultural soils as well as mountain soils are both at risk; and both function as carbon sinks, and, under the impact of climate warming, could become sources greenhouse gas emissions. Near-infrared spectroscopy is a very promising avenue able to quantify the build-up of carbon in the soils at a large scale.

Excessive doses of organic residues in agricultural fields could be dangerous for plants, invertebrates and micro-organisms living in the soil. This is the finding of a new study that shows that the use of appropriate levels of fertilizers would prevent this toxic impact on the soil biota.

Many agricultural products can be converted into feedstocks for alternative fuel. Now analysis from the Agricultural Research Service suggests that they can be used this way without reducing the nation's food supply, soil production capacity or environmental quality.

I laugh every time I hear how many fruits and vegetables we're supposed to eat every day. Who can afford it?

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The soybean, its use once limited to agriculture, is cementing a place in industry as a biodegradable substitute for petroleum in a variety of commercial products.

We have been good at using "time-out" with our 5-year-old, but his behavior often doesn't improve. Any ideas?

WOOSTER, Ohio -- A soybean plant introduction (PI) has been found to show resistance to soybean aphid in Ohio, paving the way to control the insect through new resistant cultivars.

WOOSTER, Ohio - Ohio State University and the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association will host a workshop for new and aspiring Ohio organic farmers Dec. 2 near Columbus.

Last Friday was the last trading day for the Nov’08 soybean futures contract. Contracts trade for a much longer period of time than just a few years back. By my records, the Nov’08 contract first traded nearly three years ago, in mid-Januaryof 2006, when it closed at $6.28 per bushel (The ‘04 contract traded a little more than 2 years). It reached its life-of-contract low (based on closing prices) of $6.23 on its third day of trading. It would take until the end of 2006 to break the $7 mark. The life-of-contract high (again, based on closing prices) came on July 3 of this…

The heart of the winter travel season is about to begin. Here is my schedule (so far) for the month of December. I see 9 different dates in 6 different states (and just looking at it makes me tired). Tuesday, Dec 2:  Great Falls, MT, Launch your Pre-Harvest Marketing Plan at the Montana Grain Growers Convention (contact Lola Raska at 406-761-4596) Wednesday Dec 3: Dwight, IL, Celebrity Squares Search for a Pre-Harvest Advantage for 1st Farm Credit Services (contact Matt Ginder at 309.268.0202) Thursday Dec 4: Rockford, Il, Celebrity Squares Search for a Pre-Harvest Advantage for 1st Farm…

The third of five videos on grain marketing has been posted on the Consistency Counts website. I talk about writing a post-harvest marketing plan. Like my other videos, this was recorded on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota. Check out the large bull statues over my shoulders. Several years ago, the University woke up to find one of these bulls moved to the opposite corner of the green space in front of the campus (at least 200 yards). University officials never caught the pranksters. These are very large statues - but there were no tire marks in the area. An undergraduate in…

I write post-harvest marketing plans for corn and soybeans at harvest time, and I am late in getting them posted on the web site.  Click here for my 2008 post-harvest marketing plan for corn. Click here for soybean plan. Grain markets - all markets - have been incredibly volatile and down since early summer. Cash corn that was worth $7 in late June was $3.50 at harvest time. Soybeans prices that reached as high as $15.50 in early July were $8 by harvest. It is tempting to pick the bottom of the market (see my previous post) but I won’t. I chose to follow Earl Eitheror and sell the…

Like the harvest of 2008, I am late in posting my post-harvest marketing plans for corn and soybeans. Before I point you in that direction, we need to discuss this overwhelming temptation to pick a market bottom, fill all available storage space with unpriced grain and wait for the price rally that is bound to occur in the months ahead. Let’s face it - that simply approach was a great choice in each of the last two years. For your consideration: a review of selected bullish and bearish factors in grain and oilseed markets. Bullish factors in the market… Ethanol demand for corn…