Play3min 45secIndian business makes energy on Minnesota prairieOctober 22, 2007 1:44 AMBy Mark SteilEven before Gov. Pawlenty's trade mission to India, a few Indian companies dot the landscape in Minnesota.
Lumber plant closes, housing market to blameOctober 19, 2007 3:06 PMA plant that produces engineered strand lumber used for houses will close indefinitely, and officials are blaming a slow housing market for the move.
Play3min 45secEthanol industry braces for tough timesOctober 11, 2007 4:00 PMBy Mark SteilAfter several years of unprecedented profits, the ethanol industry has taken a downturn. The main problem are low prices for the raw product.
Whistleblower highlights concerns about atrazineOctober 10, 2007 8:19 PMBy Stephanie HemphillScience got tangled up in politics at the state Capitol Wednesday. It was a hearing on atrazine, a herbicide used on corn fields. One of the people who testified was a former state researcher who has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the state.
Play4min 50secHungry for workers, harvest crews look to the other side of the globeOctober 4, 2007 6:00 PMBy Annie BaxterFarm employers can't get enough people to show up for work. That's true for custom harvest crews, who do about one-fourth of the nation's grain harvesting work. Many crews are looking halfway across the globe for help.
Play4min 49secEthanol prices are falling while corn prices go upOctober 3, 2007 8:26 AMThe price of ethanol is falling, even while corn prices are hitting near record highs. Industry observers say that's putting some U.S. ethanol companies on the brink of bankruptcy.
Play3min 45secProsperity sprouts in Minnesota farm fieldsOctober 1, 2007 6:00 PMBy Mark SteilThe best news this harvest may be strong grain prices. Corn has attracted most of attention, but other crops including soybeans are moving higher.
Play3min 47secSmall towns turn to alternative powerSeptember 30, 2007 12:00 PMBy Mark SteilMunicipal utility companies are finding that in some cases renewable energy may have a price advantage. They're under state pressure to diversify their energy sources.
Fall harvest looks stronger than expectedSeptember 12, 2007 4:24 PMBy Mark SteilThe latest crop report contains a couple of surprises: The size of the corn crop will be even bigger than expected, and grain prices are moving higher despite that news.
Drought recedes in southern MinnesotaAugust 30, 2007 7:10 AMAn updated map issued Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that abnormally dry conditions are over across roughly the southern fourth of the state.