August

Organic farmers receive death threat over their opposition to hog confinement

Hog CAFO threatens health of farming couple, Randy and Crystal Clair, and their organic farm One day in July, Crystal Clair received a strange package in the mail. She opened it and found a round piece of wire with tiny teeth like those on a saw blade. She didn’t know what it was but when […]

Opinion: Software to swallow—Impossible Foods should be called Impossible Patents

Intellectual property model of food maintains harmful reliance on GMO grains, detracts from regenerative agriculture, hastens soil loss The Impossible Burger with its faux meat texture and flavor is increasingly popular in the U.S. Unlike the Non-GMO Project Verified Beyond Burger, the Impossible Burger is derived using genetic engineering. It is made with GMO soy […]

Days are numbered for pre-harvest use of glyphosate

With major food and grain companies cracking down on farmers spraying glyphosate on crops such as wheat, oats, and edible beans prior to harvest, the controversial practice may be phased out completely. In July, Richardson International, Canada’s largest agribusiness, announced that starting next year it would no longer buy oats that had been sprayed with […]

Study finds organic farming more profitable than conventional

A study by researchers at Purdue University says that gross revenue for organic crops can be significantly higher than that for conventional crops. The study authors compared the long-run net returns to land of conventional corn/soybean rotation and corn/soybean/wheat crop rotations to that of an organic corn/soybean/wheat rotation. The authors developed 10-year enterprise budgets for […]

Organic farms adapting and thriving amid pandemic

While many parts of the economy are struggling during the pandemic, many organic farms have been adapting and thriving during this challenging time. In fact, virtually all sectors of the organic industry—from seed companies and feed suppliers to grain traders and food manufacturers—have seen increased sales. Consumers are aiming to become more food self-reliant by […]