OPINION

Public opinion starts on the farm

COLUMBUS, Ohio — During the past decade, livestock and poultry farms across the United States have been under siege by animal rights groups who use a certain tactic — the shooting and release of undercover video.

By Hinda Mitchell , August 31, 2010

ND measure is a plan to save for the future

FARGO, N.D. — When was the last time you put a little money into savings? Many of us don’t. We find ourselves saying, “Oh, there are so many bills, unexpected expenses. We’ll start next month.”

By Eric Aasmundstad , August 31, 2010

How to conserve more land

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — The politics of conservation in North Dakota just got a lot more interesting.

August 31, 2010

King of hay: My first second cutting

TOWNER, N.D. — When I was in college, an animal nutrition professor always called alfalfa “the king of hay.” Whatever you measured — crude protein, relative feed value, taste, smell, bovine yumminess — alfalfa had it going on. Of course it had to be put up right to get all that.

By Ryan Taylor , August 31, 2010

Investing in the future of agriculture

ST. PAUL — Farming is a long-term business where decisions made today affect outcomes tomorrow. Farmers plant a crop in the spring and wait until fall to see how the crop turns out. They build a new livestock facility and wait years for the investment to pay back. They select the genetics of a dairy herd and wait three, four or five years to see the results in the bulk tank. Cutting corners on essentials today often means lower returns and less productivity tomorrow.

By Bev Durgan , August 29, 2010

Gene Wirtz, Underwood, N.D., column: N.D.’s newest ‘weed’: Roundup Ready canola

If I plant Roundup Ready canola, I would get canola volunteers in my other crops, which I can’t kill with Roundup. Controlling them would mean more herbicides and more expense.

By Gene Wirtz , August 24, 2010

Paying for costs of ‘war’

Farmers and ranchers trudging through U.S. Department of Agriculture appeals procedures recently have been given a much-needed break — a chance to receive reimbursement for their attorney’s fees and other expenses.

By Sarah Vogel , August 24, 2010

US makes steps toward changing factory farm conditions

NEW YORK — The life of animals raised in confinement on industrial farms is slowly improving, thanks to pressure from consumers, animal rights advocates, farmers and legislators.

August 24, 2010

Antibiotics and meat don’t mix

LOS ANGELES — With its blunt warning that antibiotics in meat “pose a serious threat to public health,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally has acknowledged what many scientists have been saying for a long time. For years, evidence has been mounting that extensive use of antibiotics in livestock, particularly to promote growth or prevent the spread of disease in crowded pens, has resulted in the development of drug-resistant bacteria.

August 24, 2010

ND looks to the biofuel future with cellulosic ethanol plant

JAMESTOWN, N.D. — Corn ethanol plants are fairly well known in the state of North Dakota and in the United States, but cellulosic ethanol plants are unheard of anywhere in the country. And yet, a cellulosic ethanol plant is exactly what Great River Energy is working to achieve for the Spiritwood Energy Park.

August 24, 2010

What defines a family farm?

MADISON, Wis. — On the surface, labels are convenient. They organize items, people, even farms into clean, tidy categories, or so the theory goes.

By Marlys Miller , August 24, 2010

Problem of genetically engineered alfalfa

Close observers agree that the Supreme Court’s Monsanto Company v. Geertson Seed Farms decision is a big deal, but many of us disagree about what it actually means. As a farmer and advocate, I view the ruling as a major victory because it helps determine who controls our seed sup-plies and our food sover-eignty. This ruling, issued in June, declares that it’s still illegal to sell or plant Monsanto’s GM Roundup Ready alfalfa seed. Monsanto also claims the Supreme Court’s ruling as a victory, stating that it “unequivocally overturns the ban on Roundup Ready alfalfa.” Yes, the Supreme Court agreed that the Dist-rict Court had overstepped its boundaries by imple-menting the injunction to ban planting of the crop, but it also upheld that the USDA must complete an environmental impact statement before approv-ing genetically engineered alfalfa for planting. A ban on the crop will remain in effect until the USDA pre-pares a full assessment.

By Bob St. Peter , August 22, 2010

Letter - Farmers must reap what they sow

To President Obama, please give these facts to Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln, but no taxpayer cash.

August 20, 2010

Egg recall tied to salmonella grows to 380 million

ATLANTA — A recall of eggs linked to a salmonella outbreak is being dramatically expanded to 380 million eggs.

By Mike Stobbe and Mary Clare Jalonick , August 19, 2010

Actions show dairy farmers’ frustration

ONEONTA, N.Y. — On Dec. 16, 1773, a group of Bostonians, dressed as Mohawk Indians, dumped 342 chests of British tea into the Boston harbor to protest the tax associated with tea.

August 16, 2010