By Field Maloney Posted Friday, March 17, 2006, at 1:34 PM ET A scene from Whole Foods grocery It's hard to find fault with Whole Foods, the haute-crunchy supermarket chain that has made a fortune by transforming grocery shopping into a bright and shiny, progressive experience. By Field Maloney Posted Friday, March 17, 2006, at 1:34 PM ET A scene from Whole Foods grocery It's hard to find fault with Whole Foods, the haute-crunchy supermarket chain that has made a fortune by transforming...

Many farmers this year planted cotton acreage to corn, which was bringing higher prices. Some cotton gins have caught up with their workload and shut down, but Barr said others will be running for a few more weeks. He says he knows of no problems with the crop, such as seed sprouting, though he said too much rain hindered yield potential in south Louisiana. That's well behind last year, when 92 percent already was in, but just off the five-year average. In the northeast, he said, farmers...

Like House legislation that passed in July, the Senate measure would largely continue price supports for commodity crops such as cotton, peanuts and rice that drive the region's agriculture economy. Farm groups, who have lobbied heavily on the bill, say profit margins in the industry are small for all but the largest of producers. Although the bill would hold peanut price supports roughly flat for another five years, it includes payments for storage costs in bad years. It also would help...

Like House legislation that passed in July, the Senate measure would largely continue price supports for commodity crops such as cotton, peanuts and rice that drive the region's agriculture economy. Although the bill would hold peanut price supports roughly flat for another five years, it includes payments for storage costs in bad years. It also would help farmers cover the costs of extending their planting rotations, allowing their soil more time to recuperate. President Bush has proposed...

As members of Lemonville United Church bought ice cream, vegetables and fruits, bread and meat close to home all summer, they were surprised to find their views on the 100-mile diet concept shifting. The challenge to buy as much food as possible within a 100-mile radius of their homes ended last month, but congregation members continue to shop much more thoughtfully now, assessing the local and global impact of their purchases. Many in the congregation are farmers, who have used their own...

It was during Brown's "farm tour" that Henry County farmer Mark Schweibert introduced the freshman senator, and member of the agriculture committee, to the idea of replacing subsidies based on flagging crop prices with subsidies based on protecting the overall revenue flowing to a farmer's bottom line. It was during Brown's "farm tour" that Henry County farmer Mark Schweibert introduced the freshman senator, and member of the agriculture committee, to the idea of replacing subsidies based...