Abbie Fentress Swanson

For Corn, Fickle Weather Makes For Uncertain Yields

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:25:00 +0000

Last year's drought wreaked havoc on farmers' fields in much of the Midwest, cutting crop yields and forcing livestock producers to cull their herds. This spring, the rain that farmers needed so badly in 2012 has finally returned. But maybe too much, and at the wrong time.

It's almost the end of April, which is prime time to plant corn.

Gluten-Free: Fad Or Fix?

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:47:44 +0000

Six months ago, Kara Welter drastically changed her diet by eliminating food that contains wheat, rye or barley.

“I don’t eat gluten,” said Welter, a 41-year-old marketing executive in Kansas City.

“I happened to just try it because I was having stomach issues for years. And it turns out within three days, I stopped having stomach issues.”

A New Frontier In Genetically Engineered Food

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:24:46 +0000

Kevin Wells has been genetically engineering animals for 24 years.

“It’s sort of like a jigsaw puzzle,” said Wells recently as he walked through his lab at the University of Missouri - Columbia. “You take DNA apart and put it back together in different orders, different orientations.”

GMO Labeling Laws On Deck In The Midwest

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:12:59 +0000

Just south of Hermann, Mo., Swiss Meat and Sausage Co. processes 2 million pounds of meat a year -- everything from cattle to hogs to buffalo to elk.

Small Farmers Aren't Cashing In With Wal-Mart

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:27:00 +0000

When Wal-Mart calls, Herman Farris always finds whatever the retailer wants, even if it's yucca root in the dead of winter. Farris is a produce broker in Columbia, Mo., who has been buying for Wal-Mart from auctions and farms since the company began carrying fruits and vegetables in the early 1990s.

During the summer and fall, nearly everything Farris delivers is grown in Missouri. That's Wal-Mart's definition of "local" — produce grown and sold in the same state.

Farm Bill Extension Doesn’t Sit Well With Many Organic Farmers

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:16:27 +0000

Shoppers looking for organic food may have to look a bit harder this year.

Can Small Farms Benefit From Wal-Mart’s Push Into Local Foods?

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:54:41 +0000

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is muscling in on one of the fastest growing segments of American agriculture: local food.

How Much Is Organic Certification Worth?

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 07:59:00 +0000

The organic farming industry is booming. Since the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched its federal organic certification program in 2002, the number of organic farms has more than doubled.

Drought Hurts U.S. Grain Exporters, Market Share

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:52:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And now for today's business bottom line. Last summer's drought has brought bad news this fall - low crop yields, especially of corn, plus higher prices. And a prediction from the Department of Agriculture that corn exports will be at a 40-year low. The U.S.

Corn Belt Farmland: The Newest Real Estate Bubble?

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:54:00 +0000

Howard Audsley has been driving through Missouri for the past 30 years to assess the value of farmland. Barreling down the flat roads of Saline County on a recent day, he stopped his truck at a 160-acre tract of newly tilled black land. The land sold in February for $10,700 per acre, double what it would have gone for five years ago.

Heading out into the field, Audsley picked up a clod of the dirt that makes this pocket of land some of the priciest in the state.

"This is a very loamy, very productive, but loamy soil," Audsley said.