ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Scientists have unraveled the DNA of humans and other creatures. Now, a team led by the Genome Center at Washington University in St. Louis has decoded the genetic makeup of a stalk of corn.
The team published the completed corn genome in the Nov. 20 journal Science ...
Friday, November 20, 2009 8:49 AM
Robert Blair is taking precision agriculture to new heights.
The North Idaho farmer uses a small, unmanned aircraft with a 9-foot wingspan to gather high-resolution aerial images of his crops.
The plane weighs about 10 pounds when equipped with a battery, two digital cameras and a GP ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:18 AM
The Oregon Department of Agriculture is advising Pacific Northwest farmers to keep an eye out for insect known to cause problems in Asia and the Eastern United States.
The brown marmorated stink bug has been found around the Portland metropolitan area and specimens have been found in two ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:19 AM
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Are cramped chickens crazy chickens?
Researchers are trying to answer that question through several studies that intend to take emotions out of an angry debate between animal welfare groups and producers.
At issue are small cages, typically 24 inches wide by 251 ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 8:49 AM
A fungus problem with the potential to create widespread damage to corn crops in the Dakotas for perhaps the first time in memory might not be as ominous as first feared.
Initial tests are showing that the corn ear molds that are showing up in North Dakota and South Dakota are not of ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 9:19 AM
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Tristesse Jones will probably never drive a tractor or guide a combine through rows of soybeans at harvest time.
There isn't a farm within miles of where she grew up on Chicago's west side, but she's set to graduate with a bachelor's degree in crop sciences fr ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 8:49 AM
A breakthrough in the nearly 20-year quest to map the genome of swine heralds enhancements in pig breeding as well as in conservation and human and animal medicine, experts say.
The announcement on Nov. 2 that an international team of scientists completed the first draft of the genome of ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 12:03 PM
When it comes to food consumption, choices that consumers think are the most environmentally friendly often aren't, a group of researchers contend.
For instance, if everyone bought their meat, eggs and milk from local farmers' markets and grass-fed beef operations, the practice could actu ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 12:03 PM
Nearly 250 Northwest beekeepers are expected to show up in Seaside, Ore., Nov. 19-21 for the annual Northwest Corner Beekeeping Conference.
Colony collapse disorder and wintering bees indoors will be among the many topics discussed at the event, which is presented by the Oregon and Washin ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 1:03 PM
ROME (AP) -- Nearly 200 million children in poor countries have stunted growth because of insufficient nutrition, according to a new report published by UNICEF before a three-day international summit on the problem of world hunger.
The head of a U.N. food agency called on the world to join h ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 10:33 AM
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has won a $3.1 million grant to fund what it calls an innovative graduate education program.
The interdisciplinary is aimed at preparing future scientists, policymakers and natural resource managers to address water issues.
...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 10:18 AM
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -- The chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee wants an investigation into the risk of deadly E. coli getting into school lunches.
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., is worried about a recent outbreak that killed at least two people and sickened about two d ...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 9:34 AM
The Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association's annual conference will cover the gamut of issues facing growers, organizers said.
"This conference covers all vegetables, so I don't know that there's actually any one hot topic," said Jud Hedine, president of the association.
He pointed to thri ...
Sunday, November 08, 2009 12:04 AM
Can farmers resolve the quest for alternative fuels without driving up the cost of food?
That question is among many being addressed by University of California researchers, who have embarked on a system-wide study to "build better biofuels."
The study, funded with more than $660 mil ...
Saturday, November 07, 2009 11:04 AM
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) -- Sen. Sam Brownback says a federal animal research program headed to Kansas will attract private businesses seeking to take advantage of that research.
Brownback, state and local officials announced Nov. 2 that the Department of Agriculture's Arthropod-Borne Animal Disea ...
Thursday, November 05, 2009 10:55 AM
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) -- Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG said Thursday it has received regulatory approval in Germany for a new swine flu vaccine produced using cell cultures instead of egg-based methods.
Novartis described the approval as a "milestone" and said it ...
Saturday, November 07, 2009 9:33 AM
HOLTWOOD, Pa. -- "This is one I've never seen until now," said Jeff Graybill as he glanced down at a patch of arugula, the latest cover crop Steve Groff is experimenting with on his farm.
For most of the people touring Groff's farm on Wed., Oct. 28, it was like falling right smac ...
Wednesday, November 04, 2009 11:49 AM
More funding has been obtained for a research building at Washington State University, but groundbreaking is still a long way in the future.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., secured $3.74 million this year for a building to house USDA Agricultural Research Service and WSU researchers. The fundi ...
Sunday, November 01, 2009 1:03 AM
CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) -- The sun sinks behind the western horizon, an orange glow lingers behind the fluorescent lights of an oil station northwest of Carlsbad. The faint whirr of oil pumps and chirp of crickets are all that can be detected by the human ear -- but on other frequencies, it is ...
Sunday, November 01, 2009 9:03 AM
Some North Idaho farmers are worried that state budget woes could leave them without a University of Idaho Extension crops specialist.
Larry Smith, 65, will retire from the position Saturday, Oct. 31. Because of university budget concerns, there's no guarantee he'll be replaced.
Offi ...
Saturday, October 31, 2009 7:03 PM
The Dairy Science Department at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo was on the verge of reducing its dairy herd earlier this month.
But alumni and other supporters have stepped in and pledged to find a solution for maintaining the 150-cow herd.
"In order to stop ...
Saturday, October 31, 2009 5:04 PM
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Farmers might be paying a price if they sell plant residue from harvested cornfields.
The leftover plant material -- also called corn stover -- is being bought by some energy companies. They turn it into pellets and sell it to coal-fired power plants.
Some co ...
Friday, October 30, 2009 10:34 AM
on the sidelines of a conference here on world food security.
He said most world regions have experienced a slowdown of growth in farm productivity since 1990.
U.S. farm productivity growth -- the increase in crop yield for an area of farmland under cultivation -- had slipped from 2 perce ...
Thursday, October 29, 2009 8:48 AM
ABERDEEN, Idaho (AP) -- University of Idaho scientist Stephen Love says forays into the state's backcountry have taught him the most inhospitable territory is often home to remarkable beauty.
The sandy soil of Owyhee County, in Idaho's remote southwest, fills with brilliant penstemon each ...
Monday, October 26, 2009 2:48 PM
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) -- If he's been called any nicknames, they haven't been to his face, Rice County farmer Clark Schmidt says with a grin.
Yet he figures he's been the talk at the local elevator and morning coffee shops for his 65-acre peanut field not far from Sterling.
...
Sunday, October 25, 2009 10:18 AM
OREM, Utah (AP) -- Utah agriculture officials say a horde of Japanese beetles that showed up in Orem a few years ago is nearly eradicated.
Only five beetles were caught this summer. In 2007, there were around 2,000 in an urban neighborhood near downtown.
Officials attribute the ...
Sunday, October 25, 2009 10:03 AM