Neighbors file suit to block 2,000-hog facility
Nearby residents raised worries that the hog facility would lower the water table, cause odors and increase truck traffic near their homes in the rural area about 30 miles south of Indianapolis.
Agriculture/Farming
Articles
USDA approves new modified corn, soybean seeds
The farmers won't be able to take full advantage of the seeds until the EPA issues a second ruling allowing the use of weed killer Enlist. The EPA has said it will rule this fall on Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences' application to market the chemical.
Indiana gives initial OK to off-site manure ponds
A state panel gave preliminary approval Wednesday to Indiana's first rules governing big stand-alone ponds and lagoons built to hold manure trucked in from livestock farms.
Banner year for central Indiana crops nothing to bank on
Hoosier farmers are expecting a record haul in corn and soybeans this year, but crop revenue might fall below production costs.
U.S. farm income seen falling from record 2013 levels
Lower prices for corn and soybeans will drive the profits of U.S. farmers down to an estimated $113.2 billion in 2014, a decline of 14 percent from last year’s record, according to the Department of Agriculture.
U.S. farmers may grow more corn than they can handle
From Ohio to Nebraska, corn and soybean output is expected to be even higher than the record amounts predicted earlier this year.
Farmers on pace for record corn crop, report says
A bigger crop was expected as adequate rain and cool temperatures made for favorable growing conditions in the 18 states that produce 91 percent of the nation's corn.
Byproducts big business for Morgan County grain mill
It appears one man's bust is another's boom, because many of the reasons byproducts have become so popular are the same reasons you're paying historically high prices for beef.
UPDATE: Cool summer sets hopes for record harvest
The nation's corn and soybean farmers are on track to produce record crops this year as a mild summer has provided optimum growing conditions.
Judge rules against residents in suit over hog smell
A judge has ruled state law protects four large hog farms from lawsuits filed by residents of an eastern Indiana county who complained about waste and foul smells from their operations.
Ag-gag laws facing federal court challenges
The years-long fight between farm organizations and animal rights activists over laws prohibiting secretly filmed documentation of animal abuse is moving from state legislatures to federal courts as laws in Utah and Idaho face constitutional challenges.
Indiana county planning to start aquaculture park
A central Indiana county is working on plans for a 60-acre aquaculture park in hopes of attracting more business connected with fish production.
Agriculture industry seeks to create right to farm
In the nation's agricultural heartland, farming is more than a multibillion-dollar industry that feeds the world. It could be on track to become a right, written into law alongside the freedom of speech and religion.
Sundown Gardens moving from Carmel to Westfield
Longtime Carmel garden center Sundown Gardens is transplanting its operations to Westfield, where it’s planning an outdoor showroom and an agritourism-focused retail area.
Housing developer hopes farm hooks new residents
A growing number of housing developers thinks farms, rather than golf clubs, are the perfect hook to lure residents. The first to experiment with the concept in central Indiana is Mike Higbee of Central Greens LLC, with his Seven Steeples Farm on the site of the old Central State Hospital.
Surge in craft breweries strains hops supply
Hops, used as a flavoring agent, are in high demand by microbreweries that need the crop to give their pale ales and other varieties more taste than what’s found in traditional mass-market beers.
Senators: Administration must support biodiesel
The Obama administration is considering changes that would significantly reduce the required amount of biodiesel in the United States. Industry groups, farm state lawmakers and others have called on the administration to reconsider.
Indiana Grown Commission now accepting applications
The IGIC was created by a law signed by Gov. Mike Pence on March 27. The legislation creates a commission that oversees the programs that market and promote Indiana-produced agriculture.
Indiana farmers make progress planting corn crop
The new report says that while many farmers took advantage of warmer, drier conditions in the past week to kick off their planting work, others held off because cool, wet weather is in the forecast for the next several days.
Pork packer planning to produce 98 positions at Indiana plant
Indiana Packers Corp., which makes Indiana Kitchen bacon, said it will spend $2.3 million on a 56,500-square-foot facility on 5.9 acres about 45 miles from Indianapolis.