New Milford Farmer Dan Weed starts over after fire- Dec 24, 2016
Dan will have two farm stands- one on Ridge Road and one at Sunny Valley. You can reach Dan at 203-501-0203, or through Facebook to join his CSA. He will also be at four Farmer’s Markets.
Click here for New Milford Spectrum Dec. 24, 2016 article.
Iowa Exports Soybeans to China, So Why Not a Whole Farm?- Dec. 9, 2016
BEIJING — Iowa’s governor, Terry Branstad, hopes to be America’s next ambassador to China, and if he is confirmed as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s envoy in Beijing, his new home there may be just three hours’ drive from a transplanted patch of his home state.
Read more.
Cuba’s Surge in Tourism Keeps Food Off Residents Plates- Dec. 8, 2016
The record arrival of nearly 3.5 million visitors to Cuba last year has caused a surging demand for food, causing ripple effects that are upsetting the very promise of Fidel Castro’s Cuba.
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A Blueprint for the Future of Food- Dec 7, 2016
This is an article from Turning Points, a magazine that explores what critical moments from this year might mean for the year ahead.
Turning Point: France becomes the first country to outlaw food waste.
Read more.
Texas Judge Blocks the new Overtime Rule, what are the implications of the Food Safety Modernization Act for Northeast Farmers.
Read here.
A Long-Gone Parasite Returns to Florida, Leaving a Trail of Dead Deer- Nov 25, New York Times
BIG PINE KEY, Fla. — The first signs seemed baffling: deer stumbling around in confusion, howling in pain, found with their heads hideously disfigured — as if eaten alive.
What biologists discovered turned out to be even more frightening: the reappearance of a parasite known as the New World screwworm fly that had not been seen in the United States since the 1970s and had been considered eradicated.
Read more here.
Where Marijuana Plants Flourish Under Energy-Saving LED Lights- Nov 25, New York Times
TUMWATER, Wash. — Behind the covered windows of a nondescript two-story building near the Olympia Regional Airport, hundreds of marijuana plants were flowering recently in the purple haze of 40 LED lights.
It was part of a high-stakes experiment in energy conservation — an undertaking subsidized by the local electric company. With cannabis cultivation poised to become a big business in some parts of the country, power companies and government officials hope it will grow into a green industry.
Read more here.
Has a Start-Up Found the Secret to Farming the Elusive Truffle? Nov 25, 2016 New York Times
The American Truffle Company has a new technique
that it says can expand the range of the Perigord
truffle in North America, but success is proving costly.
Read more here.
Doubts About the Promised Bounty of Genetically Modified Crops- Oct 29
New York Times, October 29, 2016
LONDON — The controversy over genetically modified crops has long focused on largely unsubstantiated fears that they are unsafe to eat.
But an extensive examination by The New York Times indicates that the debate has missed a more basic problem — genetic modification in the United States and Canada has not accelerated increases in crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.
The promise of genetic modification was twofold: By making crops immune to the effects of weedkillers and inherently resistant to many pests, they would grow so robustly that they would become indispensable to feeding the world’s growing population, while also requiring fewer applications of sprayed pesticides.
