Now officially dubbed "colony collapse disorder," this phenomenon, taking place across the globe, is being blamed on a variety of culprits from pesticides to viruses or bacteria to genetically engineered crops. The most immediate threat comes from the effect on honeybees, a European import that has become our primary agricultural plant pollinator. They often live singly, come in a variety of sizes and shapes and seldom attack humans because, unlike hive bees, they do not have a huge supply...

Kemira GrowHow has fertilizer and chemicals production facilities in eight countries and had sales of 1.17 billion euros last year. Yara is the world's biggest maker of mineral fertilizers such as urea and ammonia, used to grow almost half the world's food. Buying Kemira will give the company access to a mine in Siilinjaervi, Finland, which has phosphates used in animal feed and fertilizer. In addition to the existing mine, Yara may also open a phosphate mine in northern Finland if it's...

Rainy-day savings Theresa Curry Columnist You might not be able to totally transform your looks, your wardrobe, your home or your car overnight like the television experts, but there are a couple of modest projects that you can accomplish in a day or weekend for a water conservation makeover. Rainy-day savings Theresa Curry Columnist You might not be able to totally transform your looks, your wardrobe, your home or your car overnight like the television experts, but there are a couple of...

We ve got a long-term, economically and environmentally sustainable alternative to land-spreading the only advancement in manure management technology since the development of the spreader, said Greg Langmo, a turkey farmer who also is fuels manager for the Fibrominn plant. We ve got a long-term, economically and environmentally sustainable alternative to land-spreading the only advancement in manure management technology since the development of the spreader, said Greg Langmo, a turkey...

While drinking their morning coffee, residents of the Ashtabula Harbor may have heard a small yellow airplane flying in low from over Lake Erie, spraying insecticides over Eleanor, Norwood, Southwood, Westwood and Eastwood drives, parts of Norman, Allen, Gladding and Union avenues and West Ninth Street. While drinking their morning coffee, residents of the Ashtabula Harbor may have heard a small yellow airplane flying in low from over Lake Erie, spraying insecticides over Eleanor, Norwood,...

A harvest of 161 million bushels would mean the state has had one of its best crops in recent years. Meibergen said some Oklahoma wheat ''has started to turn, and some is as green as a gourd. Royster said production costs for farmers also have risen, citing high costs for fuel and fertilizer. Paul Campbell, the Plains Partners Co-op location manager, said some of the crop has been lost because of diseases and damage caused by worms and insects, but that he expects this year's crop to be...

The collection events will accept unwanted chemicals and materials that exhibit hazardous characteristics. Acceptable items include: oil-based paints, stains, paint thinners, turpentine, solvents, cleaners, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, poisons, brake and transmission fluids, antifreeze, degreasers, non-empty aerosol cans with hazardous materials, thermometers, thermostats and button batteries. Businesses, governmental units/agencies and schools are required to pre-register and are...

Poultry litter -- a combination of droppings, wood chips, seed hulls, shed feathers and spilled feed -- has long been spread on fields as a fertilizer. The gray, sandy mix of turkey droppings and other bits and pieces flowing through Greg Langmo's fingers back onto the floor of his barn isn't just funky dirt, it's fuel. The 55-megawatt Fibrominn LLC plant will be the first poultry litter-fired power plant in the United States, tapping a novel source of renewable energy to produce enough...

And finally, in March, Menu Foods recalled 60 million cans of dog and cat food after the deaths of 16 pets, mostly cats, that had eaten products that were made with wheat gluten imported from China contaminated with the chemical melamine. That peanut butter turned out to be contaminated with salmonella and her mother became severely ill but because the family was not aware that the cause was salmonella in the peanut butter, she took the jar with her to the hospital and continued to eat it...