Food, 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."

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.

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.