Planting Intentions is a USDA report that is more or less supposed to provide a good idea of what farmers are planning to plant in their fields for the coming growing season. More importantly I want to see if the local farm co-op and ethanol plant can give me a clue if farmers are switching some of those corn acres back to soybeans or other crops. Another major expense is diesel fuel to run all the equipment. All of these higher costs are called "input costs" and they weigh heavily on the...

Department of Agriculture have started a new study about the impact on streams, rivers and lakes from the agricultural practice of winter manure spreading. Some farmers prefer to spread manure on their fields in the winter to avoid the cost of storage and because frozen soil can handle the weight of manure spreading equipment. However, freeze and thaw cycles create a risk of polluted runoff when manure is applied in the winter. The study started in February and the agencies expect to...

But I did wonder about the men hard at work on Linton hillside last weekend, feeding sheaves into the maw of the mill and bagging oats in a welter of flapping belts and whirring pulleys. Some mills sat in neglected corners of farmyards for years - "Aye, it'll be needed, mark my words - thae combine things will never last" - until they fell apart or were rescued by enthusiasts like Jock Bryce, in real life a fencing contractor and machinery inventor, and friends. But, human nature being...

OFW, 72, Receives college diploma By Dino Balabo The Philippine Star 04/11/2007 MALOLOS CITY A 72-year-old farmer and former Vietnam rehabilitation worker became the oldest graduate of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) yesterday at the Science City of Mu oz, Nueva Ecija, highlighting the university s weeklong centennial celebration. OFW, 72, Receives college diploma By Dino Balabo The Philippine Star 04/11/2007 MALOLOS CITY A 72-year-old farmer and former Vietnam rehabilitation...

The $50 million Simplot processing plant never got built, and his plans to make the Philippines a big market for Idaho irrigation equipment, harvest machinery, and farm chemicals also sputtered. With Cuba's communist dictator Fidel Castro ailing, Otter is among those optimistic that political change will help turn the island's 11 million residents into big consumers. I hope to make some farmer-to-farmer relationships, on things that would be beneficial to farmers here in Idaho. Back in...

In their day, they expanded to International Harvester products and with the dairy industry flourishing, their inventory included pulsators and other milking equipment. He has expanded the property, diversified to lawn and garden equipment and put on an addition to the shop. Diversifying to lawn and garden tractors, chain saws and trimmers, shredders and miscellaneous hardware sparked the business for a while but could not ward off the inevitable. Like preceding generations, the fifth...