This would allow the plant to switch from natural gas to coal as a chemical feedstock, and thus ensure the future of the plant and the jobs it provides. The coal-to-liquids plant, if it is built, would be a local customer for the mine, making an ultra-clean diesel, naphtha and other products from coal. The coal-to-liquids project would be a new industry with the potential to create additional business in further processing and manufacturing of products. The company would use this as a...

Farmers use pesticides and chemical fertilizers to build produce yields and antibiotics are used on seafood and livestock. Add to that the contaminated Chinese wheat gluten that poisoned cats and dogs nationwide and led to a massive pet food recall, and you've got a real international pickle. With only a minuscule percentage of shipments inspected, they say the nation is vulnerable to harm from abroad, where rules and regulations governing food production are often more lax than they are...

Farmers use pesticides and chemical fertilizers to build produce yields and antibiotics are used on seafood and livestock. The FDA flags Chinese food and other imported products it regulates, like cosmetics, for that extra scrutiny more than any other country except Mexico. To safeguard its export business, China is looking at separating foods by their ultimate destination, domestic or foreign, according to Michiel Keyzer, director of the Center for World Food Studies at Amsterdam s Vrije...

usDiggRedditYahooMyWebGoogle What's this? Beekeepers worry about mysterious colony disorder By Chris Camire, ccamire@lowellsun.com Article Last Updated:04/16/2007 09:51:26 AM EDT Tyngsboro beekeeper Rick Reault's bees are fine, but other keepers are worried about the mysterious disorder killing colonies across the country. usDiggRedditYahooMyWebGoogle What's this? Beekeepers worry about mysterious colony disorder By Chris Camire, ccamire@lowellsun.com Article Last Updated:04/16/2007...

Spring is a very busy season for Flitner, as he plans to wrap up the calving season, when he bands, vaccinates and tags the calves shortly after birth, brand near the end of April and prepare the horses for foaling and another round of riding before he trails the cattle to the mountainous pastures after branding. While the extra weight on the calves is nice, Flitner is somewhat concerned he has had to pull two to three sick calves from the pens this late in the season. Despite his efforts...

Advertisement Buy a link here The price of whey, a dairy byproduct used as fertilizer and as an ingredient in many other foods, has soared to record highs as global demand has surged and supplies have tightened. Alto Dairy, a 113-year-old farmers' cooperative in Waupun, produces about 80 million pounds of whey annually at its cheese plant. In Wisconsin, the economic impact of dairy farming is more than twice as large as the citrus industry's impact in Florida. Prices of other dairy...

Taking into account that humans consume nearly 3,000 gallons of air each day, it's time for clean air to join these concerns at the forefront of our health considerations. Environmental Protection Agency's own reports affirm that indoor air often contains 2-5 times (and sometimes more) the amount of certain pollutants as outdoor air-indoor air quality is a major cause for concern. Building Related Illness, however, refers to a condition in which symptoms of a diagnosable illness can be...

FAO has joined forces with the Global Rust Initiative an international group lead by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center which receives most of its funding from Canada, the United States and India. This could have dire implications for developing countries, he added, since they rely heavily on wheat and do not have access to wheat varieties resistant to the fungus. Destruction of wheat crops, causing...

BE sure to monitor the state of cereal crop bases and take necessary action to fend off disease and lodging pressure at this months major T1 spray timing, growers are being urged. The stem base provides the foundation for the whole plant, says Syngenta technical manager David Ranner, but mild weather has provided ideal conditions for infections of eyespot. Also, thick crops brought on by the mild winter are likely to have weaker stems leading to increased lodging risks, he points out. Not...