farming
Mighty Mess in the Mississippi Waters September 18th, 2008
Agricultural Practices Add to Pollution in the Mighty River
The Mississippi River has seen rapidly increasing levels of CO2 and river discharge over the past fifty years, as a result of the agricultural waste created by the thousands of farms that line its banks. Want...more
A Two-Way Street June 3rd, 2008
How Climate Change And Farming Go Hand-In-Hand
Rising food prices—up 4% last year, the largest increase since 1990—are affected by oil, global markets, speculation, biofuels, and…climate change. And, thanks to how we currently handle agriculture, food price increases and climate change are...more
City Farmers Cash In May 16th, 2008
Urban Ag Makes A Profit
Gardens are popping up where you’d least expect them—under elevated train tracks, in partially torn-down factories, on balconies, and behind rows of apartment buildings. And, these aren’t just home gardeners growing tomatoes for the occasional...more
The Whole Hog May 6th, 2008
More Pig News
The blog post about Pigs As Pesticides has gotten quite a response. So, in the spirit of Porky, Babe, Wilbur, here’s more news in the world of pigs. Handel’s Hog Heaven Pigs, it seems, are...more
Impending Corn Crisis April 2nd, 2008
Starting the 2008 Growing Season Off Right?
Spring is here, and with it, planting season. It’s not news that the price of corn is higher than ever (thanks to ethanol, feeding tons of corn to cows in CAFOs, etcetera). As we head...more
![chickies[1].jpg](http://www.riverwired.com/files/imagecache/small_thumb/article/chickies%5B1%5D.jpg "chickies[1].jpg")
Casting a Wary Eye on Your Chicken Dinner February 18th, 2008
The Way Broilers Are Bred Comes Under Scrutiny
Imagine chickens in an ideal farmyard, strutting around and picking at the ground, pulling out worms and bits of grass for lunch. Now, imagine chickens with pecs the size of softballs, too heavy to walk...more
Cocoa Crisis Averted: Valentine's Day Saved February 14th, 2008
How Cadbury and Mars are Working to Safeguard Your Chocolate Fix
There's an article about cocoa farming—something nearer and dearer to our hearts the closer it gets to February 14th -- in The Economist this week, In January, Cadbury Schweppes, the company that brought you the...more
![raspb_earmuffs[1].jpg](http://www.riverwired.com/files/imagecache/small_thumb/article/raspb_earmuffs%5B1%5D.jpg "raspb_earmuffs[1].jpg")
Raspberries in Winter February 11th, 2008
Switching the Season on Raspberries Yields Fresh Results
Right now, there are fresh raspberries growing in Michigan, even as the wind chill drops the temp to negative 14 and the ground is covered in snow. On February 10, The Detroit Free Press and...more
Apple Farmer Uses Pigs Instead of Pesticides February 7th, 2008
Who needs toxic chemicals when cute little piggies do the job?
Jim Koan is doing something revolutionary on his Flushing, MI farm. Or, is he? Instead of using pesticides to rid his orchard of a pest, Koan is going old school and using pigs. Koan’s 120-acre apple...more
A Delicate Balance January 28th, 2008
Notes from Boise
Working on a farm while growing up in rural South Carolina, rain was always the topic of the day. One farmer friend of mine was so superstitious about the rain that he believed my brother...more
