agriculture

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Boorish Boars Overrun Texas
Boorish Boars Overrun Texas
Nov 19, 2007 2:45 PM CST

Boorish Boars Overrun Texas

Feral swine win out in war against humans

(Newser) - Everything's bigger in Texas, and the pig population is no exception. They aren't cute porkers, either—wild boars wreck crops and cause some $52 million in annual damages in the state. For some, that means an opportunity for heavy-duty huntin', but the solo efforts aren't enough to slow a wave...

Noah's Flood Transformed Agriculture
Noah's Flood Transformed Agriculture
Nov 19, 2007 10:33 AM CST

Noah's Flood Transformed Agriculture

Melting glaciers inundated Black Sea, scattered farmers

(Newser) - The real-life inspiration for the biblical flood may have been responsible for the widespread adoption of agriculture in Europe, according to a new study. About 8,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age, ice sheets melted, causing massive flooding in the Black Sea basin. That forced...

UK Farmers Facing Tax for Cattle Outbreaks

Bird flu, foot and mouth, cost Britons $246M this year

(Newser) - UK farmers face an $82 million tax bill to pay for curbing cattle infections. Farmers are likely to gripe, the Guardian reports, because diseases have already slammed profits—and the government is to blame for leaking foot and mouth disease from a lab last summer. But the environment ministry is...

Russia Freezes Food Prices as Election Looms

Across the globe, rising agriculture costs take a political toll

(Newser) - In an effort to halt spiraling food prices ahead of parliamentary elections, Russia will today sign an agreement with its biggest grocers that freezes the cost of basic foodstuffs at October 15 levels. But while the move sounds a bit Soviet, Russia joins a host of nations in reacting to...

Mini-Cattle Are New Cash Cow
Mini-Cattle Are New Cash Cow
Sep 24, 2007 10:50 AM CDT

Mini-Cattle Are New Cash Cow

Downsized breeds are new industry craze

(Newser) - Americans may still like their burgers supersized, but the latest rage in the cattle industry is mini-cows. With smaller ranches on the rise, growers are looking for animals that suit a limited acreage. They're often kept as pets or sustainable lawn-mowers that make the rounds at state fairs, but they...

Foes Hungry for US Grains
Foes Hungry for US Grains
Sep 13, 2007 7:41 PM CDT

Foes Hungry for US Grains

Iran, Venezuela hungry for American corn, wheat

(Newser) - Venezuela's Hugo Chavez has called President Bush Satan, and Iran is that nuclear thorn in Washington's side, but neither country hesitates to import tons of grains straight from America's bread basket—especially during shortages the past few months. "They want to feed their people. They don't want to screw...

Virus Causes Buzz in Bee Caper
Virus Causes Buzz in Bee Caper
Sep 6, 2007 8:48 PM CDT

Virus Causes Buzz in Bee Caper

Breakthrough may help explain billions of apian deaths

(Newser) - The mysterious deaths of billions of honeybees now has a new leading suspect, scientists say: a newcomer to the US called Israeli acute paralysis virus. And as most stricken colonies test positive for the disease, the lead seems promising, the AP reports. The deaths have hit between 50% and 90%...

US Laborers Work Hard for the Money

New UN report says Americans more productive than peers

(Newser) - Labor Day is a well-deserved rest for Americans, as a new UN report shows US laborers work longer, harder, and get more done than their counterparts worldwide. The average US worker produces the most wealth, raking in $63,885 yearly, followed by Irish laborers at $55,986. Only Norway beat...

Foot and Mouth Outbreak Traced to Lab

Vaccine may have leaked and spread to nearby farm

(Newser) - An English research lab is the likely source of a recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease, the Guardian reports. British government officials believe a batch of experimental vaccine leaked and spread to a nearby farm. Scientists were tipped to the possible leak by the fact that the strain of...

UK Cattle Test Positive for Foot-and-Mouth

New outbreak forces farm quarantine, ban on livestock transport

(Newser) - Britain faces its first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in six years after a herd of beef cattle in Guildford tested positive, reports the Independent. The news forced Gordon Brown to cancel his vacation as the government introduced emergency measures banning all transportation of cattle and pigs and throwing up a...

Spain Has a Taste for Immortality
Spain Has a Taste for Immortality
Jul 22, 2007 4:16 PM CDT

Spain Has a Taste for Immortality

Mediterranean food may be bound for exclusive UN status

(Newser) - The Great Barrier Reef and the Taj Mahal may have to make room on the UN's World Heritage list for ... sangria. Spain's culture minister wants Mediterranean cuisine added to UNESCO's list of humankind's treasures, and he may get his way, Der Spiegel reports—Portugal, which currently holds the EU presidency,...

Farmers Fight to Legalize Pot's Cousin

Growing hemp won't harm drug war, say strapped ND growers

(Newser) - The push to legalize hemp—marijuana’s less potent cousin—has some unlikely supporters: North Dakota farmers who couldn't be more conservative in every other respect, the New York Times reports. Hemp, used in clothing, lotions and even snack bars, has become especially attractive to North Dakota because of a...

Mice Plague Chinese Countryside
Mice Plague Chinese Countryside
Jul 16, 2007 8:13 PM CDT

Mice Plague Chinese Countryside

Floods bring massive rodent problem

(Newser) - Flooding in central and southern China—the worst in 50 years—is displacing more than thousands of residents: Billions of mice, washed out of their burrows, have swarmed across acres of Chinese farmland, destroying crops and posing serious health hazards to residents. Pest control efforts have been largely ineffective so...

'Eco-Kosher' Eating Joins Religion, Ethics

New rabbinical food certification will reflect expanding values

(Newser) - Ancient Jewish dietary laws meet contemporary concerns about how food is produced in what the Washington Post calls the "eco-kosher" movement. American Jews are increasingly concerned about  labor standards, treatment of animals, and ecological impact of what goes on their table, even if they don't keep kosher, and religious...

Tracking Toxic Greens Is Growth Industry

(Newser) - Still smarting from this fall's E. coli outbreaks, the produce industry is trying to coax Americans into eating their greens again with high-tech solutions. Companies like Dole and Western Growers are using radio-frequency tags and GPS surveillance to track veggies as they move from farm to grocery store.

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