Agriculture is a business that is changing rapidly and offers a variety of rich stories. Perry Beeman, senior environmental and agriculture, reporter at The Des Moines Register, explains the beat's basics.
I’ve been feeling remiss in not writing about the business implications of that the tragic and deadly fire that took place April 24 in a Bangladesh garment factory, and now unfortunately there are reports of another fatal fire at a sweater-making facility there as well. These workplace disasters have prompted a fair amount of discussion in the United [...]
Reviewing alumni groups, boards of regents and naming rights can indicate who’s giving money, she says. Commodity boards or interest groups such as the American Farm Bureau also can provide clues or information, she says. She warns some schools receive money through private foundations or other private entities, which removes the donations from the purview [...]
With vivid images of the Texas fertilizer plant explosion still making headlines, you may be thinking about a workplace safety angle to the companies you cover. It’s a natural story to localize, as audiences ponder the relative perils they face on the job. From inspection records to prevalence of workers compensation claims to fatalities to [...]
Easter is little more than a week away, and some reports predict a lackluster selling season for trinkets, apparel and other holiday staples, because the moveable feast falls so early in the spring calendar. The National Retail Federation’s annual forecast says spending is expected to be flat, compared to 2012 – but it’s still a [...]
You never know when TV commercials, radio spots or even junk mail will turn up a business story or two. Driving along the other day I realized the CEO of a regional upscale grocery chain in Michigan was, in one of the folksy ads he is known for, announcing that his stores from now on [...]
Coca Cola wasn’t ready to talk in detail about its orange juice business in 2009. But Bloomberg’s Duane Stanford, who noted the topic during an investor meeting, kept asking. Last year, when the company broached the topic again at a conference, he pushed for the story again and it paid off with an exclusive. Duane [...]
Plain cheese sandwiches, celery sticks and other bland fare are sounding pretty good these days as the steady hoofbeat — er, drumbeat — of European horse meat stories strikes ever closer to home. And your audience may be hearing snippets and wondering “Can that happen here?” Along with the impending sequester’s possible effect on meat inspection, [...]
With East Coast regions expecting as much as three feet of snow shortly, courtesy of what the Weather Channel has named Winter Storm Nemo, the financial effects already have begun to ripple nationwide. Even if you’re in one of the balmier markets nationwide, businesses in your area likely will be experiencing either a boost or [...]
During his regular check of area dailies and shoppers, Mark Steil of Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul noted a trend: an increasing number of ads from farmers looking for farmland. Mark says several ads identified land seekers as “young farmers.” As I listened and read the transcript, I wondered why, after this summer’s drought, [...]
