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.
As we wait for Congress to return from vacation and take up the stalled farm bill — or perhaps pass an extension – there’s another aspect of agriculture that, aside from Christmas trees, often gets overlooked this time of year: plants and flowers for seasonal décor. Live or real Christmas trees still are a $1 [...]
Like me, you may have seen references here and there to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, without really knowing what it is. The TPP, announced by the White House in 2009, is a trade agreement being negotiated by nine countries – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States [...]
Hard to believe there are only two weeks left until Thanksgiving, the day of eating, parades, football, traveling and — increasingly — shopping. Each pasttime offers its own cornucopia of business angles. Here are a few ideas to augment what you may already be doing. And don’t forget to tune in on Nov. 18 to SABEW’s “From Turkey [...]
As piles of leftover Halloween loot are picked over for what’s left of the good stuff, and the pumpkin pies and sugarplums of the next couple of months warm up in the wings, it’s a good time to take a look at the business of sugar. Whether you cover food, health care, agriculture, alternative energy [...]
Whether it’s predictable political theater or a genuine possibility (or both), the impending month-end deadline for Congress to raise the nation’s debt ceiling or shut down the federal government will be the buzz this week. Pundits are warning of dire consequences if these issues are not resolved quickly, and some say even the spectre of a [...]
Niche markets always make for an array of interesting business stories, especially when they are growing. And one that fits that bill right now is the gluten-free industry, catering to consumers who want or need products that don’t contain gluten, which according to the Mayo Clinic is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. I’ve [...]
The 2013 Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour kicked off this week, and while that may sound something like a golf tournament with a down-home sponsor, it’s really a sign that summer is flashing to a close and harvest time is here. Which means a lot of good business stories are coming ripe for the picking. [...]
Over the next six weeks, quite a few communities will celebrate their agricultural heritage with some sort of gathering, from melon festivals and sweet corn parades to state and county fairs. For business writers, these events are a colorful and reader-friendly way to tackle a number of substantive economic and financial angles, from an update [...]
The farm bill limping along in Congress is back in the news again. The Senate is expected to pass its version of the legislation next week and then the bill would go to the House of Representatives. Studying the massive, five-year bill (an extension expires Sept. 30) is a big project, but you can likely [...]
