Agriculture

Government support could shift for farmers
Government support has long served as a safety net for farmers. But Congress could end the program in the farm bill that pays farmers that money whether crop prices are high or low.
Pesticide drift confirmed from some Minnesota farm fields
People in some Minnesota communities are routinely exposed to pesticide drift from nearby farm fields, according to a new study released Thursday. The chemical in question, a commonly used fungicide called chlorothalonil, is under increasing scrutiny.
Minn. apple crop mostly survives untimely frost
The sudden cold snap that interrupted Minnesota's warm spring five weeks ago doesn't appear to have been as big a disaster for the state's apple crop as first feared, but it still has left some growers hurting and worried.
With favorable conditions, nearly half of corn crops planted
With favorable weather most of last week, Minnesota farmers have planted nearly half their corn as the pace of spring planting continues ahead of normal.
Study finds organic yields trail conventional farming methods
A new study published today in Nature, the international weekly journal of science, concludes that organic farming methods produce less food per acre than conventional practices.
The latest crop report says through last Sunday farmers had planted 56 percent of their spring wheat. One year ago none of the crop was in the ground.
University agriculture school grows in new areas
Demographics at the University of Minnesota's agriculture school are changing. A different breed of student is filling the classroom.
Some Minnesota towns face high costs to clean up their drinking water because of pollution runoff from farms, according to a report today from an environmental group.
Minnesota apple growers worry that a recent cold snap could kill new buds on their apple trees after early warm weather this spring.
Spring planting picks up, but some farmers hold off
The pace of spring planting is picking up across Minnesota now that an important deadline for crop insurance coverage has passed. But the push to plant the state's $7 billion corn probably won't be the all-out rush expected a few weeks ago.