Agriculture

Iowa State University's Hans van Leeuwen has moved his research team's award-winning idea for improving ethanol production from a laboratory to a pilot plant. Now he knows the idea, which produces a new animal feed and cleans water that can be recycled back into ethanol production, works more efficiently in batches of up to 350 gallons than on a lab bench. "We're learning we can reliably produce good quality and good quantities," said van Leeuwen, Iowa State's Vlasta Klima Balloun Professor...Read Full Story

Iowa State University's Hans van Leeuwen has moved his research team's award-winning idea for improving ethanol production from a laboratory to a pilot plant. Now he knows the idea, which produces a new animal feed and cleans water that can be recycled back into ethanol production, works more efficiently in batches of up to 350 gallons than on a lab bench. "We're learning we can reliably produce good quality and good quantities," said van Leeuwen, Iowa State's Vlasta Klima Balloun Professor...Read Full Story

Shares of Pacific Ethanol (Nasdaq: PEIX) were up 15% at $0.56 on very heavy volume of 3.8 million shares. No recent news to speak of, but there must be something going on so I put in a call to the Company and will be back later with more. Pacific Ethanol announced recently plans to reorganize; purchase other subsidiaries; and eliminate about $290 million in debt. In the press release, PEIX announced the confirmation of its plan of reorganization (“Confirmed Plan”) for its wholly-owned...Read Full Story

America continues to be held hostage to foreign oil.  And we are paying for it.  Literally. It's hitting everyone's pockets hard.  Rising gas prices continue to climb.  For anyone who has visited a gas pump recently, it's really no surprise.  Gas prices across the country often top $4 per gallon for regular unleaded.  And in some markets, $5 per gallon is the new "norm". But the pain doesn't just stop at the local Shell, Mobil or Texaco station. Higher gas prices, brought on by higher...Read Full Story

The USDA is forecasting this years corn crop to be the second largest on record, down just 6% from last years record sized crop.Corn production is forecast at 12.3 billion bushels, down 6 percent from last year but 17 percent above 2006. Based on conditions as of August 1, yields are expected to average 155.0 bushels per acre, up 3.9 bushels from last year. If realized, this yield would be the second highest on record, behind 2004. Production would be the second highest on record, behind last...Read Full Story

by Allison Aubrey | The Salt Enlarge USDA The Know Your Farmer interactive map shows USDA-supported projects and programs related to local and regional food systems for the years 2009-2011. When we think of the farmers we know, we can count a lot of locally-produced food we’ve reported on, from unusual greens to pawpaws. And when the Obama Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture promotes their Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative, what do they count? Jobs...Read Full Story

Aarkstore.com announces, a new market research report is available in its vast collection: Plant Factory and Grow Lights Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2012 to 2018 http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/Plant-Factory-and-Grow-Lights-Market-Shares-Strategies-and-Forecasts-Worldwide-2012-to-2018-201941.html RSS Feed http://www.aarkstore.com/feeds/Wintergreen.xml WinterGreen Research announces the following study: Plant Factory and Grow Light Market Shares, Strategies, and...Read Full Story

New Report: Local Foods are Working for the Nation The market for local food – food that is produced, processed, distributed and sold within a specific region, say a radius of several hundred miles – is growing. Large, small and midsized farms are all tapping into it. Even better, new data suggest that these producers are employing more workers than they would be if they weren’t selling into local and regional markets. Christy (left) and Lilah Talbott of Richmond, VA came to the Fall Line...Read Full Story

People’s Gardens Give Back Over One Million Pounds As the harvest season comes to a close, the People’s Garden has a lot to be thankful for this year. Last week, the Initiative’s ‘Share Your Harvest’ effort passed the one million pound mark of fresh produce donated to local food banks and charities across the country. Chuck Hanagan has worked for USDA-Farm Service Agency for 25 years and operates a family farm in Swink, Colorado. Having an abundance of fresh vegetables has given his office...Read Full Story

Perfecting the ‘Perfect’ Food The USDA-supported Bean Coordinated Agricultural Project (BeanCAP) is working to help bean plant breeders develop new varieties that are better at adapting to changes in climate. How does one improve upon perfection?  By definition, that’s an impossible task, but a team of scientists is working to help breeders of the “near-perfect” food so they can improve production around the world. The bean is often referred to as a near-perfect food because of its...Read Full Story