Produce
Campbell Buying Plum Organics Baby Food Maker
May 24, 2013 11:13 am | by CANDICE CHOI, AP Food Industry Writer | News | CommentsSoup said it's buying Plum Organics, which makes food for babies and kids, for an undisclosed amount as it looks to move into faster-growing categories. The company had been struggling to grow sales of its canned soups as people increasingly look for foods with a fresher feel.
Ind. Farmers Make Quick Progress Planting Corn
May 22, 2013 8:18 am | News | CommentsWarm, sunny weather has allowed northern and central Indiana farmers to make quick progress planting their corn crop despite lingering wet conditions in the state's southern counties. Only 30 percent of the state's corn crop had been planted as of last week. But the new weekly crop report says 64 percent of the Indiana corn crop had been planted by Sunday.
White House Pushes for More Farm Subsidy Cuts
May 21, 2013 11:51 am | by MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Obama administration said Monday it wants to see more cuts to agriculture subsidies in a massive farm bill moving through the Senate this week. The bill would cost almost $100 billion a year over five years and would set policy for farm programs and food aid.
Daily Sound Bite: From Golf Course to Farmland
May 21, 2013 11:40 am | News | CommentsPart of a wave of Midwestern farmers snapping up land to cash in on steadily rising commodity prices, Illinois farmer Clark Kelly has purchased the Hend-Co-Hills Golf Course near Biggsville with plans to turn the course into a cornfield.
General Mills Says 'No' to GMO Labeling
May 21, 2013 10:27 am | by CNN Money | News | CommentsIn the face of growing consumer interest in labeling packaged foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), General Mills CEO Kendall Powell explains why his company opposes GMO labeling, saying that GMOs are safe and don't need to be specifically identified.
High Crop Prices Entice Farms to Expand Planting
May 21, 2013 8:30 am | by DAVID PITT, Associated Press | News | CommentsAcross the Midwest, farmers are planting crops on almost any scrap of available land to take advantage of consistently high corn and soybean prices. Growers are knocking down old barns, tearing out fencerows and digging up land that had once been preserved for wildlife. Some are even suspected of tearing into pioneer cemeteries.
Organic Industry Grows with Consumer Demand
May 17, 2013 9:48 am | by MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press | News | CommentsTensions between conventional and organic agriculture boiled over this week during a late-night House Agriculture Committee debate on a sweeping farm bill that has for decades propped up traditional crops and largely ignored organics.
Barbecue Bag for Meats and Veggies
May 15, 2013 1:00 am | by Food Manufacturing Staff | Product Releases | CommentsThe Sira-Cook™ Supreme™ bag can be used in a conventional oven or on a griddle, hot-plate or barbecue.
Company Bets on Biotech Potatoes
May 14, 2013 9:40 am | by JOHN MILLER,Associated Press | News | CommentsThis month, tuber processing giant J.R. Simplot Co. asked the U.S. government to approve five varieties of biotech potatoes. They're engineered not to develop ugly black bruises — McDonald's, which gets many of its fries from Simplot, rejects those. They're also designed to have less of a natural but potentially cancer-causing neurotoxin, acrylamide.
Photo of the Day: Biotech Tubers
May 14, 2013 9:30 am | News | CommentsThis Friday, May 10, 2013 photo shows a genetically engineered potato poking through the soil of a planting pot inside J.R. Simplot's lab in southwestern Idaho. Simplot is seeking U.S. regulatory approval to market the potatoes — which resist browning and are designed to produce lower levels of potentially cancer-causing acrylamide when fried — to growers and, eventually, consumers.
Photo of the Day: A Worrying Wheat Forecast
May 13, 2013 9:29 am | News | CommentsIn this May 1, 2013, photo Kansas farmer Ben McClure, a farmer from Hugoton, Kan., examines a wheat stalk in a Reno County wheat field. The Agriculture Department Friday, May 10, 2013, forecast U.S. farmers will harvest a far smaller winter wheat crop this season than a year ago, particularly for the hard red varieties used to bake bread.
Consumer Trends: American Strawberry Consumption Doubles
May 7, 2013 12:00 pm | News | CommentsMay is National Strawberry Month, a time when farmers and consumers alike celebrate the peak abundance of America's favorite fruit. Strawberries are a fond and familiar fare at any time of day. According to the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture, Americans now consume twice as many strawberries as they did two decades ago.
Coke Adding 25K Acres of Fla. Orange Groves
May 7, 2013 11:57 am | by TAMARA LUSH,Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Coca-Cola Co. says it is spending $2 billion to support the planting of 25,000 acres of new orange groves in Florida, a move officials are lauding as a major investment in the Sunshine State's citrus industry. The announcement is being made at a late-morning news conference at Coca-Cola's juice production plant in Auburndale.
Daily Sound Bite: Farmers Buckle Under Weight of Too Many Cranberries
May 7, 2013 10:09 am | News | CommentsAfter a record breaking cranberry harvest in Canada, many U.S. cranberry farmers who had invested expansions of their own bogs are facing financial troubles. The flood of cranberries on the market has driven down prices and left farmers unable to unload their crop.
Cranberry Farmers Struggle with Surplus
May 7, 2013 9:44 am | by M.L. JOHNSON,Associated Press | News | CommentsGrowth in the cranberry industry has been slower than expected, as nations continue to struggle with the Great Recession and its aftermath, said Tom Lochner, executive director of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association. Growth of 2 percent to 3 percent overseas, coupled with flat demand in the U.S., left farmers with a huge excess of cranberries this fall after an unexpected jump in production in Canada, he said.
Photo of the Day: A Berry Bust
May 7, 2013 9:32 am | News | CommentsThe growers associations for Massachusetts and Wisconsin said Monday, May 6, 2013, that cranberry farmers who spent millions of dollars to replant and expand bogs are facing a financial crisis after a huge harvest in Canada flooded the market and sent prices plummeting.
Consumer Trends: Fresh Takes on Fruit
May 6, 2013 12:00 pm | News | CommentsBeloved, wholesome fruit is moving beyond its everyday snack and juice roles to inspire a host of new products that offer good health, flavor adventure or even an artisan experience. But beyond all the natural, nutritious and flavorful qualities of fruit, both its versatility and important cultural role make it a uniquely attractive vehicle for food and beverage advances on multiple fronts.
Report: Many Causes for Dramatic Bee Disappearance
May 3, 2013 12:20 pm | by SETH BORENSTEIN,AP Science Writer | News | CommentsA new federal report blames a combination of problems for a mysterious and dramatic disappearance of U.S. honeybees since 2006. The intertwined factors cited include a parasitic mite, multiple viruses, bacteria, poor nutrition, genetics, habitat loss and pesticides.
EU Plans To Restrict Pesticide Use To Protect Bees
April 29, 2013 12:35 pm | by RAF CASERT,Associated Press | News | CommentsThe European Union plans to restrict the use of three pesticides to better protect dwindling bee populations. The announcement Monday was cheered by environmentalists, disappointed chemical companies and came after the bloc's 27 nations failed to agree on a common stand.
Mexican Cucumbers Linked to Salmonella
April 26, 2013 9:27 am | by NBC | Videos | CommentsCucumbers from Mexico have been linked to 73 U.S. cases of salmonella across 18 states, and the FDA has halted imports from the Mexican company thought to be responsible. Though no one has died from this outbreak, 20 people have been hospitalized.
NM Faces Tough Choices as Drought Persists
April 25, 2013 12:21 pm | by SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN,Associated Press | News | CommentsIn southern New Mexico, the mighty Rio Grande has gone dry — reduced to a sandy wash winding from this chile farming community to the nation's leading pecan-producing county. Across the state's eastern plains, wells stand empty and ranchers are selling their cattle. In the north, urbanites face watering restrictions while rural residents see the levels of their springs dropping more every day.
Consumer Trends: Revolutionizing the American Breakfast
April 24, 2013 12:00 pm | News | CommentsRabobank has published a new report on the U.S. morning eating occasion, particularly the breakfast cereal market, examining factors that are contributing to a decline in breakfast cereal consumption, and leading consumers to turn away from the cereal bowl in favor of other breakfast options. Rabobank also explores various strategies by breakfast cereal companies to inject new growth into the category.
Consumer Trends: Kids Eat More Fruit When It Is Sliced
April 22, 2013 12:00 pm | News | CommentsMost people believe that children avoid fruit because of the taste and allure of alternative packaged snacks. A study by Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab researchers Brian Wansink, David Just, Andrew Hanks and Laura Smith concluded that the size of the snack counts the most.
Greece: Strawberry Field Shootings Highlight Migrants' Plight
April 22, 2013 9:37 am | by NICHOLAS PAPHITIS,Associated Press | News | CommentsThe bloodletting last week in Greece's southern strawberry fields shocked the nation and put the spotlight on the plight of the financial crisis' overlooked victims: hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, many undocumented, whose lot is becoming even tougher amid rising racist violence and dropping living standards.
Vt. Co-Ops Push for GMO Labeling
April 17, 2013 9:53 am | by LISA RATHKE, Associated Press | News | CommentsOne of the most common questions these days among customers at Vermont's food cooperatives is whether the food they're buying contains genetically modified ingredients — but the member-owned cooperatives say they can't tell their customers for sure.
