Topic: Agriculture Sector

Queen Victoria: 6 stories from her diaries

A new website features the entire text of Queen Victoria's diaries. Here are six excerpts.

The price of milk: Low for milk drinkers, but sinks family farms

With the price of milk low and feed and fuel costs spiraling, family dairy farms struggle to compete with large farms. In Vermont, the MacLaren family gives up dairy farming after three generations, joining the gradual national decline of small farms.

Hybrid catmints: Cool cats in your landscape

Prolific blossoms, fragrant leaves, and cold-hardiness make catmint a perfect plant for almost any garden.

Indonesia's Aceh struggles to integrate former rebels fairly

As Indonesia's Aceh Province works to rebuild from decades of bloody battle - and a devastating tsunami - many analysts say feelings of injustice could wedge a new community divide.

Mad cow: Latest episode raises questions about cattle feed

The riskiest parts of rendered cows aren’t supposed to be fed back to other cows. But they are fed to chickens, whose waste can be fed back to cattle in what one critic calls ‘cow cannibalism.’

10 best self-help books of all time

From Benjamin Franklin to Norman Vincent Pearle to Stephen Covey, here are 10 of the best self-help books ever written.

Sarah Palin says Obama wants to ban kids from farm work. Is she right?

Well, Sarah Palin is airing the concerns of many farm-state lawmakers. But there's no evidence that Obama is trying to stop kids from working on the family farm, which she alleges.

Are crop yields the Achilles heel of organic farming?

Organic agriculture can't compete with conventional in terms of crop yields, according to a new study.

Mad cow disease: Big deal abroad. US? Not so much. (+video)

Mad cow disease has hit the US only four times since regulators took steps to control it 15 years ago. Although the latest announcement of mad cow disease may alarm American consumers, the biggest reaction may come from nations that decide to ban US beef.  

Corn pricing affected by global warming, federal mandates not helping, study finds

Researchers out of Purdue and Stanford University have found evidence that small temperature increases over the next two decades could have a surprisingly drastic impact on the volatility of corn prices. And federal biofuel mandates may make things worse.

Is corn syrup killing the honeybees? (+video)

A trio of recent studies faults a common family of corn pesticides for disorienting honeybees, potentially leading to colony collapse disorder. The German chemical company Bayer, which manufactures the pesticides, disagrees.  

The Masters: 12 women candidates for Augusta National membership

The Augusta National Golf Club has steadfastly refused to alter its all-male membership. But circumstances may soon cause the gender barrier to break, and if it does there are several women who might be good fits for the club.

How thoughtful farming could curb climate change, feed the world

Policy makers may begin to address climate change by encouraging sustainable agriculture practices around the world, according to a new report.

Five ways to make aquaculture more sustainable

Combining rice paddles and fish ponds, and using locally caught fish as feed, are just two of the ways that fish farming, or aquaculture, can be made more environmentally friendly.

'Pink slime': Health crisis or misunderstood meat product?

Pink slime is what critics call 'lean, finely textured beef' – a filler used in ground beef. It's not dangerous, but it's a byproduct that some say should be clearly labeled. 

Chad: a closer look at the food crisis

The current food crisis in Chad could affect 3.6 million people, writes guest blogger Alex Thurston.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: movie review

'Salmon fishing in the Yemen,' based on a satirical novel, manages to lose the satire in damp whimsy despite a good cast that includes Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Top 10 cities where house prices are rising

House prices continue to fall nationwide, but here and there they’ve begun to turn up as Americans return to the housing market. Which 10 metropolitan areas have seen the biggest increase in the past year? The winners, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), include a state capital, a furniture-making center, and a resort that was once America’s foreclosure capital. Can you guess who they are?  

North Korea to suspend nuclear activity in exchange for food: 5 key questions

Here are five key questions on the link between food and nuclear weapons in North Korea.

Why we're paying more for corn

Thanks to government subsidies supporting a specific type of corn farm, land value is increasing, and prices are going up. The same is true of other federally supported crops.

Top 10 richest US presidents

Mitt Romney earned nearly $22 million in 2010. If elected, he would be in the Top 3 most wealthiest presidents. You may be surprised by who ranks among the Top 10 wealthiest US presidents.

Insights from a pile of manure

Her un-anniversary was fast approaching, but how to reinvent that day remained elusive.

Valentine's Day: cost of romance rising for flower delivery, 4 other things

When you arrange for flower delivery or take a special someone out for dinner this Valentine's Day, it'll cost more than it did a year ago. That's the cold hard fact about a warmhearted and festive day, according official US inflation data.

But the rising cost may actually be a relatively small one: Those chocolate or flower prices haven't been rising at gas-pump-fast rates. Here's the official inflation tally of five common Valentine's Day activities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Iran evades US sanctions by paying with gold

Iran bought 200,000 tons of Australian, and possibly US, wheat last week with gold. Commodities traders say Iran is also pitching oil barter deals for grains.

Why all the attention on the Falklands? Five key questions.

April 2 is the 30-year anniversary of the Falkland Islands War. Argentina and Britain have been at odds over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands for decades, and tensions kicked up when Britain deployed some of its modern warships to the islands, as well as Prince William, as a pilot.