Some of the country's top agriculture professors question the sudden zeal for ethanol production, saying consumers don't have economic incentive to pay for a new gasoline blend made mostly from the corn-based fuel. Vehicles lose about 30 percent of fuel economy with E85, said McEowen, so the fuel must be priced at least that much cheaper than the gasoline blends currently sold to make it worthwhile to purchase. It's to the point where investors are seeking corn territories in the Midwest...

A major international initiative is being launched to try to boost the income of the world's millions of poor rice farmers and at the same time provide consumers with more nutritious, better tasting food. Once provided to farmers, the new varieties are expected to command a higher price among consumers, especially those in Asia, who, as they become increasingly affluent, are seeking - and paying for - better quality food. New scientific knowledge is allowing rice researchers to develop...

THE $30 million upgrade of the Eyre Peninsula rail system "provides a future" for grain growers trying to recover from the drought. The lines are predicted to carry more than 1.3 million tonnes of grain each year. Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Email me if my comment is published Search for more stories on this topic on Newstext, our news archive service. We also require a working email address - not for publication, but for...

That gave Niboh the time to return each year to his homeland of Cameroon, where he began an innovative program to help the people in their struggle against poverty. Among his dreams, he said, is to build a school there on the model of College of the Ozarks where students work at campus industries to pay for their education. In the town of Nkambe, population 50,000, torchbearer John Konger "has taken 300 young people who were doing nothing but causing trouble and taught them skills, and the...

latimes.com to watch a video of this unspoiled Nicaraguan hideaway and experience the sights and sounds of the Corn Islands - http://travel. But there are places to stay where you can be perfectly comfortable. off the travel grid, but the payoff is solitude, scenery and some of the best fishing, diving and snorkeling in the Caribbean, at bargain prices. When it pulled alongside the pier after the 25-minute, jowl-jostling crossing, I knew immediately that I had left Nicaragua's last outpost...

Among them, news organizations can broaden what they consider journalistic function to include activities such as online search and citizen media, and perhaps even liken their journalism to anchor stores at a mall, a major reason for coming but not the only one. This year, we also offer a detailed report on the status of online journalism, based on a close quantitative examination of a diverse sample of news websites. On Madison Avenue, talk has turned to whether the business model that...