Union Leader - NH consumers investing in farms and healthy food - Sunday, May. It's called Community Supported Agriculture in which "farms offer produce subscriptions, where buyers receive a weekly or monthly basket of produce, flowers, fruits, eggs, milk, coffee, or any sort of different farm products," according to localharvest.org. And they're making an investment in the future of farming in the process. Goffstown With tainted food making headlines almost daily, more New Hampshire folks...

Savvy farmers all over the country have discovered a practice that might not work as a nationwide agricultural policy, but that has allowed some economically inefficient orchards to thrive: Encourage yuppies and their progeny to come pick your fruit they'll pay handsomely for the privilege, buy more than they'd ordinarily consume, and then shell out for all sorts of other value-added products. Instead of paying workers to pick their fruit, they should try another strategy: making customers...

Because feed represents farms' biggest single cost in raising animals, farmers are serving them a lot of people food, because it can be cheaper. Besides trail mix, pigs and cattle throughout the country are downing cookies, licorice, cheese curls, candy bars, French fries, frosted wheat cereal and peanut-butter cups. Growing demand for corn-based ethanol, a biofuel that has surged in popularity over the past year, has pushed up the price of corn, Smith's main feed, to near-record levels....

The official figures for this year's wine grape harvest have been announced - South Australia's Riverland and south-east growers say they come as no surprise. Meanwhile, the impact of the drought on the Riverland's grape and citrus industries has been outlined in a report due to be presented to the State Government today. It has been nearly a year since the region's wine grape growers held a rally calling for action. The report also states that if the drought continues, production next...

Farmers learn how to improve their productivity and reduce costs by reducing pesticide use, eliminating waste and introducing better farming techniques. And the environment on which these farmers depend is protected. The news also signals the Rainforest Alliance's move into certifying tea farms in addition to its long established programs in coffee, cocoa, bananas and other crops sustainable forestry and tourism. To meet the standards, farmers must commit to continuous improvements in...

Eucker, a third-generation farmer, recently sold two-thirds of his 269-acre Hartford Orchards, adding to a growing trend of shrinking farms in Ohio. Agriculture remains Ohio s number one industry, but with costs making it increasingly difficult for family farmers like Smith to maintain their properties, grow their business and ultimately pass the farms to the next generation, the future of farming and some say Americans food supply could dwindle. Agriculture remains Ohio s number one...

The bureau's report noted: "With increasing total wine grape production in recent years, stocks have been increasing and prices for wine grapes declining. If seasonal conditions remain drier than average this year and water allocations are reduced further, the bureau predicts production in 2007-08 could be around 930,000 tonnes. Even with average seasonal conditions, wine grape production is projected to only recover to 1.5 million tonnes, still 400,000 tonnes below record harvest," the...

Consumers, Hoskin said, should ask precisely how local their fruits and vegetables are and encourage businesses to deal with Norfolk producers. Clark Hoskin, Norfolks manager of tourism and economic development, encourages consumers to ask questions when they see signs in grocery stores and restaurants claiming to offer local produce. Together, they produce nearly 20 commodities and will market select items this summer through the Loblaws chain of stores. Several weeks ago, food safety...

Producers also reported significant losses to the states winter wheat crop and the first alfalfa cutting of the season in addition to apples, peaches and other fruits. Losses of this size could be devastating to the livelihood of many growers and the jobs their farms support, Commissioner Farmer wrote to the Governor. Kentuckys grape and wine industry has grown into a $24 million business that more than doubled wine production from 2003 to 2006. Kentuckys crops of apples and peaches...