Farming | featured news

Fluctuating milk prices have long made dairy farming a risky business, and when milk prices crashed in 2002, Chris Lekberg gave up. He sold his cows and bought goats. It turned out to be a wise decision. He now has more than 50 goats, and with growing demand for goat cheese, he gets a steady price for their milk from a nearby cheesemaker.

Watermelons have been bursting by the score in eastern China after farmers gave them overdoses of growth chemicals during wet weather, creating what state media called fields of "land mines."

Legislation would make it a crime to produce or distribute photos and videos taken secretly at agricultural facilities, a practice animal rights groups oppose.

Germany halted sales of poultry, pork and eggs from more than 4,700 farms Friday after animal feed was found to be contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals. As German authorities sought the source of the tainted feed, other nations rushed to figure out if any other food was contaminated.

The amount of one type of antibiotic given to livestock outweighs all the bacteria-killing medicine

The US government will spend up to $760 million to compensate American Indian farmers who were unfairly denied loans by the Agriculture Department, the Obama administration announced on Tuesday.

Under the program, the chain will invest in training and infrastructure for small and medium-sized farmers and measure the efficiency of large suppliers in growing and getting their produce to market.

Funny man Stephen Colbert injected a little sarcasm into the congressional record Friday as he testified about farm labor and immigration.

"As we've heard this morning, America's farms are presently far too dependent on immigrant labor to pick our fruits and vegetables," Colbert said in his prepared remarks. "Now the obvious answer is for all of us to stop eating fruits and vegetables. And if you look at the recent obesity statistics, you'll see that many Americans have already started."

Officials are looking into the gaps between what farmers earn and what shoppers pay at the grocery store. The Justice Department and the USDA pledge an examination of alleged monopolistic practices.

U.S. Atty. Gen.

The Brazilian government announces trade sanctions against US imports in retaliation for illegal US subsidies to cotton farmers.