News & Events

Merrigan Expresses Worry About FSMA’s Impact on Agriculture

Published May. 24, 2013

She told the audience that the FSMA regulations being developed have “the potential to transform, disrupt, improve and potentially destroy some operations.” “It’s really big,” she said. “It could really change agriculture and certain parts of our industry more than you realize.”

Top Ten Political Issues Facing Agriculture

Published May. 24, 2013

She was asked to discuss the top political issues–excluding the farm bill—that currently impact agriculture.

Raincoats (and Risk Management) Required

Published May. 24, 2013

Agriculture is fundamentally a risky business. Farmers have to be willing to spend hundreds of dollars per acre to plant a crop in the hope that it will come up, the weeds won’t be too bad, the pests won’t kill it and, in the end, there will actually be a market that will pay a high enough price to cover all of these production costs.

Susan Crowell: Big data: Farming by the numbers

Published May. 24, 2013

They came up a crop insurance product, even for speciality crops, that’s customized according to each farm’s risk factors. If a farm gets dumped on with May rain, Climate Corp.’s computers know about it as soon as the first raindrop falls, and cut a check soon enough for the farmer to buy more seed to replant.

'Foodies' spark reawakening of Grange in California

Published May. 24, 2013

"This food movement fits right in line with our purpose and principles," said Bob McFarland, president of the state Grange. "We call this the Grange renaissance, the reawakening of the Grange." For the activists, joining the Grange means gaining a gathering place, a supportive umbrella organization and a platform through which to seek food policy changes.