A provision that differs from previous disaster programs allows only those producers with crop insurance coverage or that signed up for the Non-insured Assistance Program to be eligible for assistance. The package provides $3 billion nationally for ag producers, including an estimated $15 million assistance for Montana grain producers affected by crop losses from natural disaster and related conditions that occurred in 2005 or 2006 or part of 2007. The quantity loss threshold for...

How can agricultural systems be used to store carbon? What place do organic crops have in the food chain? Can African countries produce enough crops to sustain their populations? Students studying agriculture and forestry are now just as likely to debate issues surrounding climate change and conservation as farming techniques and animal rearing. More often than not, courses in this area are based on rural campuses, set in acres of land, so you can, literally, get out in the field and put...

Researchers have created what could be the next generation of transgenic crops by inserting a gene for herbicide resistance from a bacterium into plants. The approach is not a new one many farmers already grow crops that have been engineered to resist the herbicide glyphosate. But the new plants are resistant to a compound called dicamba, and could offer farmers an alternative in areas where glyphosate-resistant weeds have become a problem. The researchers have now created transgenic soya...

Benefits and drawbacks of bioenergy must be considered, UN experts say 8 May 2007 As the demand for biofuels surges with over one billion people living without access to electricity, a new United Nations report released today cautions that the world s energy needs must be met in a sustainable and environmentally sound manner. Benefits and drawbacks of bioenergy must be considered, UN experts say Footer UN HOMEPAGE. Benefits and drawbacks of bioenergy must be considered, UN experts say 8...

The crop insurance program has been a big question mark in the debate over the 2007 Farm Bill. In USDA's farm bill proposal, it recommended "gap coverage," a new crop insurance policy to cover deductibles. House Subcommittee Reviews Crop Insurance Compiled By Staff. The House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a hearing Tuesday to review the crop insurance industry. House Ag Committee Chairman Rep. In testimony before the subcommittee, USDA Chief...

So far, the only farmers who are interested are in Montana, where more than 50,000 acres of camelina were planted this season. Researchers say that camelina, planted on millions of acres of marginal farmland from eastern Washington state to North Dakota, could help power the nation s drive for cleaner energy. Camelina produces more oil than other crops such as canola, and it s cheaper, supporters say. It stretches from a Puget Sound biotech firm that s working to increase camelina yields...