Agriculture

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Agriculture

1:01 am

Tue April 23, 2013

Seed Companies Fight To Maintain Independence

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Credit Bill Wheelhouse / Harvest Public Media

A robotic arm loads seed bags onto pallets for shipment at Burrus Seed Company, an independent seed company in rural Illinois.

Credit Bill Wheelhouse / Harvest Public Media

Burrus Seed employs about 60 workers year-round, more during peak season.

Credit Bill Wheelhouse / Harvest Public Media

Farmer Wayne Ladage is a loyal Burrus Seed customer and distributor.

By Bill Wheelhouse

The window in Tom Burrus’ office gives him a good look at the wide expanse of Illinois River bottomland where his company produces seed corn for farmers across Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin. Hanging on his wall are sketches of his grandfather and others who’ve had a part in the Burrus Seed Co. since it was founded 1935. The 63-year-old company president knows he is a rare independent in a land of giants.

Agriculture

1:01 pm

Mon April 22, 2013

Cagey Issues For Egg Industry

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Credit Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media

The hens in Hongwei Xin’s basement lab at Iowa State University in Ames have perches, one of the requirements of new cages proposed in an egg industry-supported federal bill.

Credit Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media

Hongwei Xin, Iowa State University professor and Egg Industry Center director, this week will present his findings on the environmental impact of the egg industry.

Credit Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media

Mark Tjelmeland collects eggs in the hen house where his 700 birds lay them on his farm in McCallsburg, Iowa.

Credit Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media

The hens on Mark Tjelmeland’s farm lay eggs in nest boxes. A new bill would require all egg operations to provide hens with a place for nesting.

Credit Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media

After a winter spent mostly indoors, the hens head out into their three acre pasture at Mark Tjelmeland’s farm in McCallsburg, Iowa.

By Amy Mayer

Mark Tjelmeland’s 700 free-range chickens lay 45 dozen eggs per day in indoor nesting boxes on his farm in McCallsburg, Iowa. The rest of the time, unless it’s too cold, they roam and peck in a fenced pasture.

Agriculture

1:01 am

Mon April 15, 2013

Seeking Profits In Private Labels

Credit Grant Gerlock / Harvest Public Media

Walmart's "Great Value" brand is an example of private label food. After acquiring Ralcorp, ConAgra is now the largest private label food supplier in the U.S.

By Grant Gerlock

You may not think much about store brands as you shop for groceries, but it’s a business worth nearly $60 billion per year. ConAgra, a company based in Omaha, Neb., made a splash recently in what the industry calls private label food when it paid $6.8 billion to buy Ralcorp, based in St. Louis, Mo. The merger created the biggest private label food company in the country.

Harvest Public Media

5:15 pm

Wed April 10, 2013

From Flush To Fertilizer: City Farms Recycle Waste

Credit Jeremy Bernfeld / Harvest Public Media

Birmingham Farm, owned by the city of Kansas City, Mo., uses treated human waste as fertilizer.

By Frank Morris

While most Americans don’t farm, they do contribute to agriculture by buying food at stores and restaurants. And about half of us make an additional donation in the form of fertilizer. With spring at hand, farmers are getting ready for planting. That means enriching the soil and that may just involve you.

Tracking NBAF

11:08 am

Wed April 10, 2013

President's Budget Includes Funds For NBAF In Manhattan

President Obama presenting his FY2014 Budget this morning. It includes $714 million for animal disease research, but isn't specific about funding NBAF.

By Laura Ziegler

President Obama’s 2014 budget proposal to Congress asks for funds to “develop countermeasures for diseases originating from large animals that can be transmitted to humans, " including $714 million for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas.

The news has already been interpreted by supporters as a green light for the $1.15-billion federal animal disease lab known as NBAF, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, in Manhattan, Kansas.

Senator Pat Roberts said the proposal represents the administration’s support for NBAF.

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