International Business News - Scene http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif First, there was last summer's drought. Then came more bad news: skyrocketing fuel and fertilizer prices, and a wet spring that delayed West Virginia farmers' plantings and hay harvests. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/96122-drought-a-year-later.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/effects-linger-from-last-summers-drought-in-w-va.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/effects-linger-from-last-summers-drought-in-w-va.htm Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:01:05 EDT It's only a few months into the cotton growing season, but already the budding rows of cotton are dwarfed by towering weeds that starve them of sunlight, nutrients and water. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/95425-pigweed-scourge.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080722/cotton-farmers-in-southeast-face-a-foe-in-pigweed.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080722/cotton-farmers-in-southeast-face-a-foe-in-pigweed.htm Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:31:16 EDT Border agents have stepped up searches and hundreds of traps have been placed on the California-Mexico line in an aggressive campaign to stop a tiny bug from bringing in a disease farmers say could wipe out the $1.3 billion citrus industry here. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/93416-valley-citrus-panic.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/tiny-bug-threatens-california-citrus-industry.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/tiny-bug-threatens-california-citrus-industry.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:54:08 EDT Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, has pledged to buy more produce from local farmers as it kicked off a campaign to highlight the fruits and vegetables grown in Oklahoma and sold in its stores. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/92760-economy-consumer-price-index.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/wal-mart-highlights-locally-grown-program-in-okla.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/wal-mart-highlights-locally-grown-program-in-okla.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:02:33 EDT Arkansas wants to give tourists a taste of the farm experience, and is encouraging more of its farmers to start selling it. The Arkansas Agritourism Initiative is designed to help consumers find local vendors as well as farms that offer tours or other attractions. Organizers launched a Web site Saturday that will help promote the industry through the state's tourism department and other avenues. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080716/new-ark-effort-connecting-farmers-tourists.htm Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:25:56 EDT Arkansas cotton growers, who had to wait to plant this year because of a cool and rainy spring, are watching the weather and keeping an eye out for pests as they hope the crop will mature enough for a good harvest. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/91425-farm-scene-arkansas-cotton.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080715/arkansas-cotton-growers-hope-for-good-weather.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080715/arkansas-cotton-growers-hope-for-good-weather.htm Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:10:24 EDT New Mexico jalapeno farmers should be breathing a sigh of relief. The state's jalapeno crop is a month away from harvest and therefore not part of the latest warning regarding the link between salmonella and raw jalapeno and serrano peppers. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080714/reactions-mixed-on-pepper-link-to-salmonella.htm Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:59:49 EDT For apple growers like Abby Jacobson, making or losing money depends as much on what they don't do as what they do. So when data from Michigan State University's high-tech weather monitoring network helped her decide to skip four costly chemical sprayings this spring, she considered it an unqualified success. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/89681-farm-scene-wireless-technology.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080711/remote-weather-stations-give-farmers-timely-advice.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080711/remote-weather-stations-give-farmers-timely-advice.htm Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:22:10 EDT Federal rangeland managers said continuing to allow cattle to graze on the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is harming the rare plants, fish and wildlife the monument was created eight years ago to protect. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080710/blm-grazing-doesnt-fit-ore-national-monument.htm Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:25:37 EDT More than 4,800 dairy cows at risk of carrying tuberculosis are being slaughtered this week in central California, where nearly 16,000 cattle in the country's largest milk-producing region have been quarantined, federal officials said. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080709/slaughter-begins-in-calif-dairy-herd-exposed-to-tb.htm Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:18:47 EDT Jerry McReynolds usually cuts his own wheat fields. But not this year. After a volatile spring of heavy rains, widespread hail and tornadoes, the Woodston farmer wanted to get his crop cut quickly. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080708/farmers-in-southern-kansas-eager-to-harvest-wheat.htm Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:20:38 EDT The buzz around Marshall University this week will be about the importance of honeybees. About 300 beekeepers were expected to join 12 vendors and dozens more presenters at the Heartland Apiculture Society's annual conference starting Thursday in Huntington. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/87168-bee-conference.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080707/beekeepers-coming-to-west-virginia-for-conference.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080707/beekeepers-coming-to-west-virginia-for-conference.htm Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:10:40 EDT Expect fewer slices of red, ripe tomatoes next to the grill this holiday weekend. With a salmonella scare causing many customers to shun what's normally a summertime favorite, tomato farmers nationwide have had to plow under their fields and leave their crop to rot in packinghouses. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/85594-farm-scene-tomatoes-salmonella.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080704/farmers-say-salmonella-scare-has-hurt-tomato-sales.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080704/farmers-say-salmonella-scare-has-hurt-tomato-sales.htm Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:13:14 EDT Indiana will use $50 million in state funds to help farmers get low-interest loans--money they can use along with federal funds to restore their flood-damaged fields. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080703/indiana-hopes-low-interest-loans-will-help-farmers.htm Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:43:10 EDT Having to make due with less water, California farmers are reassessing their planting of tomatoes, cotton, corn and other water-intensive crops. A popular replacement this year--safflower. The thistlelike plant is perfectly suited for the state's Mediterranean climate and does not require much water. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/83875-california-water-safflower.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080702/a-low-water-year-is-a-boon-to-safflower-farmers.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080702/a-low-water-year-is-a-boon-to-safflower-farmers.htm Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:14:13 EDT Environmentalists are suing the U.S. Forest Service over what they say is an illegal dole: The agency's long-standing practice of subsidizing corn and soybean farming on a nature preserve in western Kentucky and Tennessee. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/83130-farm-scene-forest-farming.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080701/group-sues-over-crop-subsidies-on-us-forest-land.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080701/group-sues-over-crop-subsidies-on-us-forest-land.htm Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:27:57 EDT To help poor Afghani villagers make money on potatoes instead of opium poppies, Idaho farmer Pat Rowe used a little old technology: root cellars. The 68-year-old Rowe, whose family raises tubers and wheat on 2,000 acres near American Falls, went to the Central Asian country with a root cellar design common across his home state's famous potato country in the 1930s and 1940s. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/82505-farm-scene-afghan-potatoes.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080630/spud-farmer-returns-to-roots-to-help-afghans.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080630/spud-farmer-returns-to-roots-to-help-afghans.htm Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:37:37 EDT There hasn't yet been any official North Korean reaction to the destruction of the most visible symbol of its nuclear program, but a U.S. diplomat who witnessed it said Saturday that the big blast saddened government officials there. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/81763-north-korea-koreas-nuclear.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080628/nkorea-saddened-by-loss-of-reactor-tower.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080628/nkorea-saddened-by-loss-of-reactor-tower.htm Sat, 28 Jun 2008 06:42:33 EDT The U.S. agriculture secretary says he is concerned that legal hurdles prevented much immediate federal help for Midwestern farmers faced with serious setbacks because of flooding. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/80629-flooding-economy.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080627/ag-secretary-lawmakers-discuss-farmers-flood-aid.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080627/ag-secretary-lawmakers-discuss-farmers-flood-aid.htm Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:11:08 EDT With the price of diesel skyrocketing, farmers and ranchers around the country are being targeted by ne'er-do-wells armed with syphon hoses and pumps. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/79565-oil-prices.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080626/thieves-target-farm-diesel-supplies-as-prices-soar.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080626/thieves-target-farm-diesel-supplies-as-prices-soar.htm Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:57:24 EDT