Tag: livestock

Commentary – Giving Farmers Their Due

In late March, Canadian farmer
Nick Parsons drove his tractor over 3,000 miles across the country. His
goal was to reach the nation’s capital in Ottawa to ask for financial
support for Canada’s farmers. Great Lakes Radio Consortium
commentator Suzanne Elston thinks we should be giving farmers a whole
lot more:

Keeping Disabled Farmers Farming

The life of a farmer isn’t easy. The work is hard. The days are long.
The profit margins, low. It’s tough work for anyone, but when a farmer
becomes disabled, the challenges are even greater. But as the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports, help is available…and
it’s keeping disabled farmers, farming:

Dairy Farm Endangers Trout Stream

In the tiny town of Martell in western Wisconsin, residents are trying
to stop a big new dairy farm they fear will pollute one of the best
trout streams in the Midwest — the Rush River, about an hour’s drive
east of the Twin Cities. Its the same kind of battle small towns and
rural residents are fighting across the Midwest, as large-scale
livestock operations continue to expand. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Mary Losure reports:

New Restrictions on Farmwater Runoff

The Clinton administration is putting new restrictions on farms to
reduce the livestock waste running into the nation’s creeks and rivers.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Disagreements Over Manure Runoff Policy

Environmentalists are concerned that big business agriculture will weaken a government proposal to reduce pollution. The federal government’s proposal would make large farm feedlots come up with a management plan to dispose of animal manure. The Great Lakes RadioConsortium’s Lester Graham reports that some farm groups are fighting it:

EPA Focuses on Agricultural Runoff

The federal government is planning to deal with one of the nation’sbiggest water pollution problems. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’sLester Graham reports…the government is cracking down on agriculturalpollution…and farmers wonder who’s going to pay for it:

New Corn Variety Lowers Agricultural Impact

Manure spills and overflow from large hog farms has become a problem for many local waterways. Those spills often contains high levels of nitrates and pesticides which can endanger fish populations and contaminate water supplies. But now, researchers have found a variety of corn that could make hog manure less harmful. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel Reports:

Large-Scale Factory Farms

One of the nation’s largest egg producers plans to expand its operations—and that worries some family farmers in Ohio, who say factory farms make bad neighbors. Farmland states throughout the region are currently struggling with the environmental issues that surround large-scale corporate farming. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Maria Gallagher reports:

EPA to Regulate Livestock Farms

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced it would begin regulating large cattle, pork and poultry farms that produce huge amounts of animal waste. Manure spills from these farms have damaged ecosystems and water supplies in many states throughout the nation. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel reports: