One of the most quintessential Thanksgiving foods is arguably pumpkin pie. While it is extremely popular in the U.S. and Canada, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone in the rest of the world that has ever had it. The ancient cultivar that became our modern-day pumpkin has been traced to Central America in a region …
There is something a little magical and distinctly American about a Fall afternoon spent picking apples and other fruits of the season. And many would argue there is no place better to fully enjoy the changing of the seasons than the countryside. I always assumed this tradition dated back to the earliest days of agriculture, …
The Bootstrap Origins of America’s Agritourism Industry Read More »
Back in early September, Brazil confirmed two cases of so-called “atypical” Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis (BSE), aka mad cow disease, at two separate meat plants in the country. The cases are considered “atypical” because they occur spontaneously and sporadically and are not related to the ingestion of contaminated food, according to Brazil authorities. Now, Brazil has …
Why the U.S. Beef Industry Wants to Halt Brazil Imports Read More »
The chicken industry grows two different breeds: Broilers which are optimized to provide as much meat as possible, and layers which are optimized to lay as many eggs as possible. In modern-day poultry farming, the layer males are often considered useless since they cannot grow up to lay eggs, and they are not the fast-growing …
Counting Your Chickens Before They Hatch? Now You Can Read More »
Insects are an all-year threat to crops, both in the field and in the bin. While a lot of attention is given to control measures used during the growing season, stored grain is equally at risk. Australian startup Davren Global is developing a novel grain protectant method utilizing a type of silica to create a …
Australian Startup Developing Novel New Pesticides from Silica Read More »
Wheat importers are counting on a rebound in production in 21/22 to help ease skyrocketing prices but weather obviously remains a huge wild card. Another potential snag in the outlook for increased supplies is Argentina, which some worry could face export restrictions on its wheat. Argentina last year became the first country in the world …
Argentina’s “Genetically Modified Wheat” Plans Could Shift Global Trade Flows Read More »
Budweiser has added a new member to its family of Clydesdales. The new foal named “Eminem” was born September 14 at Warm Springs Ranch in Boonville, Missouri. While the name is spelled just like the Detroit rapper, it actually stems from the first initials of the foal’s parents’ names – mother, Marcie, and father, Miles. …
On this day in 1933, the first giant dust storm, dubbed “The Great Black Blizzard” began rolling across the Great Plains. Most Americans are familiar with the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, but the story of how we got there is rather interesting. It really begins back in the ealry-1800s when explorer and map-maker …
Remember that old saying, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade? That’s exactly what dairy farmers and researchers around the country are doing as they hunt for ways to monetize poop. Entrepreneurial dairy farmers, with an assist from anaerobic digesters, are finding ways to transform manure into money while also solving some climate concerns. Manure …
It was around this day back in 1785 that a Baptist teacher and preacher named Elijah Craig founded a distillery in Kentucky using corn to make whiskey. Craig has sometimes been claimed to have been the first to age the whiskey in charred oak casks, “a process that gives the bourbon its brownish color and …
