Mo. hog giant gets community backing at hearing

2010-03-17T01:45:15Z

<div id="subtitle">Supporters defend Mo. hog farm giant Premium Standard, tout company's economic impact</div><div><p>Uncertainty about the future of a key employer in northern Missouri brought more than 1,000 supporters of Premium Standard Farms to Trenton to rally behind the corporate hog gian...

Top US senators urge Japan lift beef curbs

2010-03-16T14:16:02Z

<div><p>Two powerful US senators pressed Japan Tuesday to lift what they called "scientifically unfounded" restrictions on US beef exports and to end preferential treatment for Japan Post over private competitors.</p><p>"We look forward to improved economic relations between the United States and Japan once these serious t...

NY horse breeders warn of risk if OTB funds cut

2010-03-15T11:30:30Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state will lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and the state's horse breeding industry will be destroyed if the funding provided by New York City's bankrupt Off-Track Betting Corp<...

Vermont dairy farmer talks about immigration probe

2010-03-15T00:30:18Z

<div id="subtitle">Vt. farmer targeted in immigration probe says temporary worker visa program for dairies needed</div><div><p>A Vermont dairy farmer who was among those targeted in a federal crackdown on undocumented workers says he thought three illegal workers had proper documentation.</p><p>Clement Gervais believes his family's farm has been cleared following the November inspection by immigration officials, bu...

Food and Farms Immigration Workers

2010-03-15T00:30:33Z

In this photo taken March 9, 2010, Clement Gervais stands near dairy cows at the Gervais Family Farm in Bakersfield, Vt. The farm was among five dairy farm operations targeted in a federal crackdown on undocumented foreign farm workers where Clement Gervais says he believed three of his workers cited as unemployable had proper documentation. (AP Photo/Alden Pellett)

Indian Ocean, the boat's captain said.</p><p>Captain Santi Gamboa described on Spanish national radio how the crew of the boat, the Txori Argi, had seen several skiffs headi...

Stage is set for better West Coast salmon season

2010-03-11T16:45:59Z

<div id="subtitle">Better salmon season expected off West Coast this year, including reopening of Calif. fishery</div><div><p>California's chinook salmon fishery is likely to be opened this year after two straight closed fishing seasons — but with restrictions, according to recommendations released Thursday by a federal panel. Fishermen in Oregon and

Smithfield Foods sees profit in 3Q, tops forecasts

2010-03-11T11:00:19Z

<div id="subtitle">Smithfield Foods returns to 3rd-qtr sales rise overseas, beats Wall Street forecasts</div><div><p>Smithfield Foods Inc., the nation's largest hog producer and pork processor, reported a profit on Thursday for its third quarter after more than a year of losses.</p><p>Meat companies have struggled for two years with a...

Lobster Wars

2010-03-10T14:18:42Z

A sticker on the back of a fisherman's truck is seen outside the Knox County Courthouse, Tuesday, March 9, 2010, in Rockland, Maine. Matinicus Island lobsterman Edwin Vance Bunker is on trial for allegedly shooting fellow lobsterman Chris Young last summer. Bunker's trial is expect...

China seen opening soon to U.S. pork: report

2010-03-06T11:00:05Z

<div><p>KANSAS CITY (Reuters) - Pork producers attending their annual meeting here are looking for China to be the next major market to open fully to U.S. pork following word this week that certificate problems with Russia have been solved and exports could start soon to that count...

Senator: Japan must lift US beef curbs

2010-03-05T15:20:27Z

<div><p>A US senator told Japan's ambassador to the United States on Friday that Tokyo's restrictions on US beef exports are "blatantly unfair" and should be lifted immediately.</p><p>Republican Senator Mike Johanns met with Conn., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010. The land on which grapes are now grown, was once a dairy farm. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

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Cows to chardonnay: Can Conn. dairy farms change?

2010-03-03T02:15:25Z

<div id="subtitle">Cows to chardonnay: Can dwindling Conn. dairy farms convert to grape-growing and winemaking?</div><div><p>A winter breeze rustles through the brittle and dormant vines twisting along the hills of Bill Hopkins' vineyard, the latest transformation of a Connecticut farm that since 1786 has been keeping up with changing agriculture, markets and cons...

Denmark Climate Cow Power

2010-03-01T10:18:40Z

FILE - In this March 11, 2009 file photo, a line of Holstein dairy cows feed through a fence at a farm outside Jerome, Idaho. The United States is counting on cows to help reduce its carbon footprint. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, in Copenhagen, announced a plan Tue...

Udderly awesome Holstein sets production record

2010-02-22T08:08:01Z

&lt;div id="subtitle"&gt;Udderly awesome Holstein sets milk production record with 8,400 gallons of milk in one year&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;This Holstein is more than just another udder in the herd. The cow from the Ever-Green-View Farm in eastern Wisconsin has set a new national milk production record. A Holstein tagged number 1326 in Waldo has pumped out about 8,400 gallons...

Atty: Poultry companies turned watershed into mess

2010-02-22T08:38:46Z

<div id="subtitle">Attorney: Poultry companies 'knew better,' but polluted watershed anyway; trial testimony ends</div><div><p>Motivated by greed, several Arkansas poultry companies cut corners when getting rid of thousands of tons of waste and allowed it to pollute a sensitive watershed, an attorney for the state argued Thursday.</p><p>But the 11 companies accused ...

Oregon's Klamath Basin deal helps farmers and fish

2010-02-22T08:42:08Z

<div id="subtitle">Agreements to remove dams end battle over Oregon's Klamath Basin water; farmers and fish win</div><div><p>A century-old fight over water from Oregon's Klamath Basin ended Thursday with signed agreements that assure farmers water and power to keep their crops green, and lay out the removal of dams that have blocked salmon from hundreds of miles of spawning grounds.</p&...

Maine dairy farmers put new organic milk on market

2010-02-22T09:06:38Z

<div id="subtitle">10 struggling Maine dairy farmers unite to put new organic product, MOOMilk, in supermarkets</div><div><p>Maine dairy farmers hope their new organic milk, called MOOMilk, becomes as popular among natural-food buffs as Maine lobster is among seafood lovers.</p><p>Ten dairy farmers formed Maine's Own LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California has been deluged with rain and snow this winter, but its epic tug-of-war over water rages on, this time in the form of a plan by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein to divert more water to the state'...

Cattle battle: NZealand has more cows than kiwis

2010-02-22T10:40:18Z

<div id="subtitle">Moo-ve over! Cows now outnumber humans in sheep-deprived New Zealand</div><div><p>New Zealanders who for decades have endured jokes about being outnumbered 20-to-1 by sheep have a new farm animal majority to worry about: cows.</p><p>A record 5.8 million dairy cattle were counted in the year ended June 2009,

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