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From helium to heartworm meds, what shortages plague businesses?
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From helium to heartworm meds, what shortages plague businesses?

What does a replica Civil War balloon have to do with business journalism?  Well, the plight of this particular replica, which New York’s Genesee County Museum hopes to launch this year as part of commemorative ceremonies, has lit up focus on our national helium shortage.  Who knew?  But the helium story is real and one [...]

Pending transportation bill affects more industries than road-repair
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Pending transportation bill affects more industries than road-repair

People sometimes ask me why I listen to the truckers’ network on satellite radio.  Mainly, I do it because tuning in to those news segments and call-in programs — with participants with names like Stormchaser in Oregon or Road Warrior from North Carolina chiming in from their rigs — distracts me from the same-old, same-old Michigan highways [...]

The financial impact of food safety and shifting demand
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The financial impact of food safety and shifting demand

Food safety issues are rearing their … microbes, lately, prompting a new set of related business story possibilities.

Tracking the economic impact of severe weather
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Tracking the economic impact of severe weather

The tornado alerts have waned for the time being after last weekend’s deadly storms. But given the track record so far this year, and severe spring weather outlooks from AccuWeather and other forecasters, it’s probably a good idea to determine how you’ll cover any outbreaks from a financial point of view. Storms, flooding, high winds, [...]

Dig into these Earth Day business angles
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Dig into these Earth Day business angles

Sunday is Earth Day 2012, and while the four-decades old observance isn’t getting the attention it did on its 40th birthday in 2010, it’s still a decent news peg for a green business, finance or consumer piece. The theme of this year’s Earth Day is “Mobilize the Earth,” and social media campaigns will play a [...]

Corn or soybeans? Stories for spring planting season
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Corn or soybeans? Stories for spring planting season

What do the prices of potash, nitrogen and phosphates have to do with your readers’ pocketbooks? The zooming cost of these fertilizer components are just one part of the complex mix that affects the U.S. (and global) agriculture economy and in turn everything from the price of jeans and hot-dog buns to sales of heavy [...]

Covering the agriculture beat: An introduction
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Covering the agriculture beat: An introduction

Agriculture may seem like a simple job. Prepare the soil, apply chemicals, plant, harvest, repeat. Right? In fact, it’s a complicated endeavor in the best of circumstance. Farming is bedrock industry that is directly affected by weather, natural disasters, climate change, and market forces that landowners can’t control. Farmers, at least those still running largely independent, smaller-scale [...]

Covering agriculture: Challenges
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Covering agriculture: Challenges

Covering agriculture presents some challenges, like any other business beat. Here are a few things to watch. Don’t oversimplify. Agriculture stories can be complicated. Think about how the news you are covering affects different sectors of the ag industry, and, of course, various consumers. A rise in grain prices probably means higher meat prices. Grain [...]

Covering agriculture: Identifying local stories, angles
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Covering agriculture: Identifying local stories, angles

Agriculture stories are everywhere. Perhaps more so than on other beats, though, it pays to get out of the office. If you are reporting in a rural area, you should stop by a local café where farmers have breakfast. You should pop by the grain elevator and strike up a conversation. Or, to the extent [...]

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