Plenty of pumpkins in Maine patches
Bangor Daily News - 9/20/2011. By Sharon Kiley Mack – Dayton: Keith Harris at Pumpkin Valley Farm, on the edge of the Saco River in Dayton, harvested a 57-pound pumpkin from his fields over the weekend. “I would say we got the fertilizer just right,” he said with a laugh. “It has been a very good crop.” There appear to be plenty of pumpkins in Maine’s patches, a dozen farmers reported. The prices here should not be affected by major pumpkin shortages in New York and Vermont that were caused by Hurricane Irene. |
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Super weeds pose growing threat to US crops
Common Dreams - 9/20/2011. By Carey Gillam – Paola, Kansas: Farmer Mark Nelson bends down and yanks a four-foot-tall weed from his northeast Kansas soybean field. The "waterhemp" towers above his beans, sucking up the soil moisture and nutrients his beans need to grow well and reducing the ultimate yield. |
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Resisting the corporate theft of seeds
The Nation - 9/19/2011.By Vandana Shiva – We are in a food emergency. Speculation and diversion of food to biofuel has contributed to an uncontrolled price rise, adding more to the billion already denied their right to food. Industrial agriculture is pushing species to extinction through the use of toxic chemicals that kill our bees and butterflies, our earthworms and soil organisms that create soil fertility. Plant and animal varieties are disappearing as monocultures displace biodiversity. Industrial, globalized agriculture is responsible for 40 percent of greenhouse gases, which then destabilize agriculture by causing climate chaos, creating new threats to food security. |
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Ploy to save family potato farm blossoms into ploye festival
Maine Sunday Telegram - 9/18/2011. By Deirdre Fleming – Fort Kent:The Fort Kent Ploye Festival is held each August in conjunction with the local muskie fishing derby to celebrate summer and draw tourists. But what this eight-year-old tradition really does is retell an important local story. About 20 years ago, Fort Kent had as many as 40 potato farmers. Today, there are just five, including the Bouchard Family Farm. |
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