10 agriculture stories you should read today, Feb. 3

Minnow trumps agriculture. Farm bill’s Tea Party. Big Ag rides organic bus. To catch an ag thief. Biobullets rejected. Food porn. Rattlesnake gassing. Boulder in the vineyard.

Chris Bennett

February 3, 2014

2 Min Read

1. When a Minnow Trumps Agriculture

Sacrificing farming on a green altar: The Delta smelt controversy is a tale too ridiculous for fiction. A great read and a hekuva farce. (National Review)

2. GMO Horizon

Demand, demand, demand: Sure there’s enough food to feed everybody right now. Wait till 9 billion are walking the globe. (MIT Technology Review)

3. Tea Party, Farm Bill

Rural America, Tea Party, Farm Bill in a Gordian knot? (The Atlantic)

4. Monsanto Takes Ride on Organic Bus

There’s a trillion dollars riding on global produce and Big Ag is moving toward a much larger share. There’s been no Damascus conversion on the non-GMO and organic road — just recognition of the profits to be made. (Wired)

5. How to Catch an Ag Thief

Tractor thieves, tree nut bandits, cattle rustling: The skinny on rural crime.(Modern Farmer)

Food porn, rattlesnake gassing

6. Biobullets Rejected

The cattle industry wants to shoot brucellosis-infected buffalo with biobullets — essentially a vaccine in a slug — to protect U.S. livestock. Yellowstone says no way. (Reuters)

7. Food Porn

This must be a sure sign of the apocalypse. A lady gets paid $9,000 per month to sit in front of a webcam and eat food? (Yahoo News)

8. Rattlesnake Gassing

The Rattlesnake Round-Up may be facing a viper shortage. A potential ban on rattlesnake gassing has ignited a furor in Texas. (Businessweek)

9. Boulder in the Vineyard

An Italian winery was hit with millions in damage after a rockslide dislodged several giant boulders, including one that obliterated a 300-year-old barn and kept rolling into the vineyard rows — flattening 9 acres. Video footage taken afterward clearly shows the damage at about the 2:25 mark. (The Drinks Business)