For Blake Gerard, a fourth-generation farmer working the flood-prone fields of the Mississippi River bottomlands in Alexander County, Ill., there was no sense in fighting nature.
“I could grow something that would grow in water,” he said. Or quit.
https://www.propublica.org/article/illinois-farming-rice-soy-corn-flooding-mississippi-river?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News#Illinois#Farming#Agriculture#Climate#ClimateChange#Flood
Why Some Farmers Are Stuck Raising Crops That No Longer Thrive
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Some farmers keep growing in flood- and drought-prone fields because subsidies soften the losses, while federal programs meant to help them change course have been underfunded and mired in bureaucracy. Under Trump, those programs may weaken further.
So far, 9 agencies have terminated #union contracts that covered >445k #FederalWorkers from the #EPA, US #CoastGuard, #FEMA, #GSA, the Departments of #HHS, #Agriculture & #VeteransAffairs, & parts of #ICE & #Citizenship & #Immigration Services.
“This is literally the largest act of union busting in American history,” said Mike Podhorzer, a former political director of the #AFLCIO. “There’s not another time when that many people lost their union.”
Médor n°40 · La #campagne s’est transformée radicalement ces dernières décennies, mais pas forcément la vision que beaucoup portent sur elle.
Pour les #journalistes – souvent urbains –, traiter de la campagne revient trop souvent à focaliser sur des sujets estampillés « vert », en tête desquels l’ #agriculture.
Le prochain numéro de Médor met de la distance avec la capitale et rebat la campagne.
Disponible dès le 4 septembre.
Abonnez-vous pour le recevoir chez vous : https://medor.coop/offre
Médor n°40 · La #campagne s’est transformée radicalement ces dernières décennies, mais pas forcément la vision que beaucoup portent sur elle.
Pour les #journalistes – souvent urbains –, traiter de la campagne revient trop souvent à focaliser sur des sujets estampillés « vert », en tête desquels l’ #agriculture.
Le prochain numéro de Médor met de la distance avec la capitale et rebat la campagne.
Disponible dès le 4 septembre.
Abonnez-vous pour le recevoir chez vous : https://medor.coop/offre
A case of infection with the flesh-eating screwworm has been identified in a person who traveled to the United States from Guatemala, sources have said, amid fears over the parasite's impact on the U.S. beef industry. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/25/world/science-health/human-screwworm-us-guatemala/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #sciencehealth#screwworms #agriculture #guatemala #us #dairyindustry #cdc
Japan's agriculture ministry decided to extend the deadline for selling government-stockpiled rice released under discretionary contracts, believing slow deliveries to retailers is making it difficult to sell all of it. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/20/japan/rice-sales-deadline-extension/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan#maff #agriculture #rice
Indonesia faces an uphill task in encouraging villagers to move away from small-scale illegal gold mining toward less-destructive ways of making money, such farming. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2025/08/19/sustainability/indonesia-gold-miners-farming/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #environment #sustainability #indonesia #mining #gold #pollution #agriculture
Retail prices of rice at about 1,000 supermarkets across Japan averaged ¥3,737 per 5-kilogram bag from Aug. 4 to 10, up ¥195 from the previous week and around 1.4 times the price a year earlier. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/19/japan/society/rice-price-increase-august/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society#maff #rice #agriculture
England’s sparkling wine industry is growing but struggling — burdened by small-scale operations, high costs and tough competition from established global brands like Champagne and Prosecco. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/08/18/world/englands-sparkling-wine-industry-starts-to-struggle/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #england #wine #trade #champaign #agriculture #food
"Farmers will come in the pub on a Friday night and say: ‘The public don’t care as long as it’s cheap.’ Which is absolute crap. And the public will say: ‘You never see a farmer on his bike – [instead] driving around in Range Rovers shouting “get off my land!"‘ Which is also crap"
A very good article on modern farming in the UK.
"Farmers will come in the pub on a Friday night and say: ‘The public don’t care as long as it’s cheap.’ Which is absolute crap. And the public will say: ‘You never see a farmer on his bike – [instead] driving around in Range Rovers shouting “get off my land!"‘ Which is also crap"
A very good article on modern farming in the UK.
India's drive to produce more ethanol is prompting its farmers to switch away from growing oilseeds, undermining government efforts in the world's largest buyer of cooking oils to reduce imports. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/12/markets/india-ethanol-edible-oil-sufficiency/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #markets #india #oil #agriculture #ethanol #india #corn #rice #soybeans
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited a rice field in a suburb of Seoul to inspect the local rice farming situation and receive explanations from a rice farmer on measures to combat high temperatures and pests. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/11/japan/farm-minister-visits-rice-field-south-korea/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #shinjirokoizumi #rice #agriculture #southkorea
Today is one of those days where I question why I even try to educate others anymore. I can't fight against the might of the discourse-shifting agricultural lobbies, fossil lovers, and such. And the discourse seems to have shifted far enough that people think there really is no alternative to the current capitalistic agricultural methods we currently exploit the planet with. They exist. And they are simple. It's just absolutely not easy.
Today is one of those days where I question why I even try to educate others anymore. I can't fight against the might of the discourse-shifting agricultural lobbies, fossil lovers, and such. And the discourse seems to have shifted far enough that people think there really is no alternative to the current capitalistic agricultural methods we currently exploit the planet with. They exist. And they are simple. It's just absolutely not easy.
Record high temperatures in Japan could curb the country’s rice production, threatening to create shortages of the staple grain and fresh price spikes as public resentment mounts over the cost of living. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/08/japan/japan-rice-crop-at-risk/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rice #agriculture #food #heatwaves #climatechange
Japan’s farm ministry has apologized for its erroneous rice supply and demand forecasts, which Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba admitted were what caused prices to surge across the nation in the past year. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/08/japan/politics/ldp-policy-panel-on-rice/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #food#maff #rice #shigeruishiba #shinjirokoizumi #ldp #agriculture
Macron s'est empressé d'annoncer qu'il allait promulguer la loi Duplomb malgré sa censure partielle: "Le président est satisfait 'in fine' de cette décision qui conforte son bilan écologique", tente l'un de ses proches. Sans aller jusqu'à demander une deuxième délibération à l'Assemblée. Le sénateur à l'origine de la loi n'exclut pas de redéposer un nouveau texte pour autoriser l’acétamipride. "Une provocation", fulmine un élu écolo
Japan is poised to reverse its long-standing rice curb policy, following a government admission that it had been miscalculating demand. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/06/japan/rice-ishiba-increase/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rice #shigeruishiba #agriculture
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