Farm Progress

Sharecropper to billionaire. Holy Land cowboys. Soldier in the poppies. Farmland 10. WinePod. Fertilizer fire. Less bees, more cost. Hemp to the Hill. And more.

Chris Bennett

November 25, 2013

2 Min Read

 

1. 10 Factors Guiding Farmland Value

Tim Hopper, TIAA-CREF, says 10 global trends will steer the future of farmland value. (The News-Gazette)

2. The Great Fertilizer Fire

When the West Fertilizer Company plant went up in flames, volunteer firemen knew what was stored inside: huge bins of ammonium nitrate and tanks of anhydrous ammonia, both of which were becoming increasingly unstable. But they didn’t know the flames would result in the biggest disaster their town had ever seen. (Texas Monthly)

3. Cowboys in the Holy Land

Israeli cowboys roaming the Golan Heights. (Daily Mail)

4. Soldier in a Poppy Field

A West Point graduate found riches in Afghanistan’s poppy fields — and a 10-year prison sentence. (Vocativ)

5. Harold Hamm, Sharecropper to Oil and Fracking Tycoon

As a child, Harold Hamm picked cotton until Christmas or the first snow — now he’s a billionaire — the 90th richest person on the planet. (WFP)

Hemp to Hill, WinePod

6. Hemp Farmer Heads to the Hill

In June, Ryan Loflin planted 60 acres of his alfalfa farm with hemp. He just harvested the U.S.’s first large-scale hemp crop in about 60 years. (Washington Post)

7. Less Bees, More Almond Costs

The almond industry is paying at least $150 million more per year for bees than it was a decade ago. (Modern Farmer)

8. Wine from a Pod

Entrepreneur Greg Snell’s 4-foot high WinePod presses grapes and spits out wine. (BBC)

9. Chickpea Boom?

Hummus sales are soaring and pulling chickpea demand alongside. (Businessweek)

10. The Sugarman — Leontino Balbo

Meet the apostle of post-organic agriculture (Forward to 1:30). (BBC)

 

Got an interesting or odd ag story I've missed? Please send links or email me at [email protected].

 

Follow me on Twitter: @CBennett71

 

From the "10" archives

10 agriculture stories you should read today, Nov. 18

10 agriculture stories you should read today, Nov. 11

10 agriculture stories you should read today, Nov. 4

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