China's mammoth and largely successful efforts at improving the lot of its billion-odd people have run into the realities of the limits posed by centralized development. In a nominally totalitarian state, such expressions of protest may appear anachronistic, but they are well within the character of today's China. Anecdotal evidence from various second-tier Chinese cities such as Shantou, Xiamen and Bobai show that protests over local issues such as enforced family planning or abrupt...

Working together to expand our scientific understanding of air emissions from livestock operations, we can do what's good for agriculture, good for our environment, and good for the American people. This agreement established a framework for farmers to participate in a monitoring study. EPA concluded in the late 1990's that it did not have sufficient air emissions data for AFOs, which made it difficult to determine the compliance status of AFOs with existing air emissions requirements. EPA...

Agresti's 5,000 hogs eat mostly "salvage," meaning he gets the food free from food canneries, bakeries, food processing facilities, and, yes, pet food manufacturers, who have unsalable product or food waste. Although the pet food scandal put an unwelcome spotlight on his farm, Agresti doesn't plan to stop using salvage feed, and he's currently waiting for compensation from the feds, who quarantined his hogs from Apr. Nobody seemed to mind until the industrial chemical melamine, blamed for...

Weather-wise, the persistent lack of rains lately in the Midwest has left large areas of the Eastern Corn Belt in real need of moisture-replenishing rains, and continued drought could start to have a lasting impact on overall production totals as we count down the weeks till pollination. Strong gains in the wheat market also buoyed corn as buying enthusiasm from that market spilled over into the rest of the agricultural arena. Weather-wise, the persistent lack of rains lately in the...

That's 14 percent of Nebraska's production, which translates into more than $25 million worth of Nebraska pork annually that is exported around the world. More than 250 people including meat traders, distributors, manufacturers, food service representatives and hotel retailers are expected to attend. In addition to helping promote pork exports, Hutchens said the Nebraska Corn Board has supported the Nebraska Model for pork production, the annual Taste of Elegance pork promotion in Omaha,...

And while at first glance it would appear that the spare rib is the better deal, at least as far as price is concerned, Lawson said that s not entirely true. When it comes to barbecue ribs, it s also important to note that the most popular is the pork rib. Basically, the two types of pork ribs preferred by most folks, Cloud says, are the spare rib and the baby back rib. The baby back comes off the loin, where the pork chop comes from. If you want to add barbecue sauce during the cook...