A few weeks ago McDonald’s restaurants in the United Kingdom announced they would begin sourcing all pork from livestock suppliers who met animal-welfare standards established by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It was a move designed to appease customers who want two things: local food that is produced in an ethical, responsible way. Now all pork at UK's McDonald's restaurants will come from the farmer who agrees to grow livestock based on…

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The Smithfield-Shuanghui mega-pork deal will no doubt cause hand-wringing and outrage among many Americans who fear growing Chinese dominance of the global economy. But let's all calm down a bit and see this for what it is: good for Smithfield, good for the U.S. pork sector… and potentially great for the U.S. beef industry. To recap, this week Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd., China's largest meat processor, agreed to a $4.7 billion deal to acquire Smithfield Foods…

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Farm Futures is set to host farm tours to four continents, each designed to give you and your spouse the experience of a lifetime. From South Africa to China, and from Brazil to Australia, you'll broaden your perspective on global agriculture while enjoying some of the great sight-seeing wonders of the world. "I've often said that when you return from a trip of this nature, you never watch the news the same way again," says Max Armstrong, one of the tour hosts and Farm…

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When the U.S. Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), it was a major step toward fixing the gnawing infrastructure problems our country faces now and in to the future. The most glaring may be on our waterways. Without maintenance of our eroding locks and dams, the risk of catastrophic failure grows. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of the locks and dams on the nation’s inland waterways system have exceeded their economic design life expectancy. WRDA would sanction more…

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Today the U.S. Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act, which, if enacted, would pave the way toward fixing some major inland waterway infrastructure problems. Assuming this measure becomes law, it could not come at a better time. A few weeks ago we sat down with several farmer leaders and economists to hear an assessment of the nation's crumbling infrastructure and impact on grain prices. It's not a pretty picture. Here are six take home messages from that meeting…

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After nearly 20 years of safe use, you might think we could move on - that there would no longer be questions about genetically engineered seed. Millions of acres of GM seed have been planted worldwide, and millions of people and livestock have eaten the harvest. Case closed. Yet, the debate over GM is becoming even more polarized, as witnessed during a recent event held by the Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture Program at the University of Illinois. Despite 600 scientific studies…

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Last week's debate on genetically engineered food at the University of Illinois included two farmers: one who grows conventional and biotech seed, the other organic. The messages and values they communicated speak volumes about the curious rift between these two approaches to agriculture. What drew me to the event in the first place was the title of organic farmer Mary Howell-Martens' presentation: "Why organic farmers don't want GMOs on their farms." Since biotech…

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Yesterday I reported here on a debate titled "Understanding and Addressing the anti-GM critique," organized by the Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture Program at the University of Illinois. Mike Gray, U. of I. entomologist, was among the speaker panel, which included an Illinois farmer, a New York organic farmer, a representative from the Union of Concerned Scientists and a European microbiologist. Most of the speakers were there to dismiss the benefits of biotechnology…

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Last week's Food Dialogues event in Chicago sparked much debate about the virtues of biotech seed. I had a similar experience on a smaller stage when I attended an Earthweek event titled Understanding and Addressing the Anti-GE Critique, sponsored by the Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture Program at University of Illinois. What I thought would be a thoughtful back and forth on biotech was really – for the most part, anyway – more tirades about the evils of Monsanto…

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The U.S. cattle herd is the smallest in 60 years, thanks to declining hay production, higher grain prices and the devastating 2012 drought that continues to grip much of the Great Plains region. According to USDA, all cattle and calves in the United States as of January 1, 2013 totaled 89.3 million head, 2% below the 90.8 million on January 1, 2012 and the lowest inventory of all cattle and calves since 1952. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 38.5 million, were down 2% from…

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