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Agriculture

Rural veterinarians in short supply

It's getting harder for farmers and ranchers in Minnesota to find a veterinarian when they need one. As older vets retire, there are fewer young vets who want to take over rural practices. It turns out more vet students are choosing to work on small animals in urban areas after graduation. The change has the state facing a shortage of vets who specialize in livestock.

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State health, agriculture leaders work to ease mad cow fears

Minnesota's food and health experts did their best to ease fears and answer assorted questions about mad cow disease in a statewide videoconference with farmers, veterinarians and public health professionals.

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A case of mad cow shows holes in regulations

A cow found to be carrying mad cow disease was born before regulations, investigators announced Monday. Food safety experts and the USDA are trying to determine if current safeguards are good enough.

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Beef industry counting on consumer confidence

The beef industry says it will respond to mad cow disease and be a stronger industry. However, the bovine spongiform encephalopathy case in Washington state has Minnesota farmers and ranchers concerned about the future.

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Want to learn patience? Grow hazelnuts

Hazelnuts - also called filberts - are rich in protein and vitamins. They're traditionally grown in Turkey, Italy, and Oregon. A man in northern Minnesota is growing hazelnuts. It's part of his attempt to live off the land. And he says hazelnuts are the perfect crop for a future of global climate change.

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Sugarbeet farmers on the trading block?

The United States sugar producers fear the Central American Free Trade Agreement will destroy their industry. The industry provides 20,000 jobs in northwestern Minnesota and notheastern North Dakota, and brings $2 billion a year into the area.

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Clark stumps in Upper Midwest

Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark was in the Twin Cities this weekend to raise money for his campaign. Clark is one of nine candidates seeking the Democratic nomination. Observers say coming to Minnesota when most candidates are stumping for the nation's first primary in New Hampshire, sends a signal Clark is in the campaign for the long haul.

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Turkeys provide a new source of power

Minnesota will soon be home to a new kind of alternative energy plant. A British company called Fibrowatt plans to build a power plant near the central Minnesota town of Benson. The facility would burn a mix of turkey manure and wood chips to make electricity. The project would provide Exel Energy with a third of the renewable energy it's required to buy every year. But some opposed to the project say there are better uses for turkey manure.

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Minnesota soybean farmers remain frustrated with Brazil

This year for the first time Brazil will export more soybeans than the United States. The country's maintained a longstanding ban on genetically modified soybeans. But industry experts say as much as a quarter of Brazil's crop is produced from illegal GMO seed. The situation has caused frustration among American producers.

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Cattle prices continue to soar

A shortage of live cattle is driving prices to all time highs. For 7 years, ranchers in cattle country have struggled to survive a drought. Some ranchers can't afford feed. They've culled their herds. Others have gone out of business. But those who have managed to survive are cashing in.

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