First income gain for U.S. farms in four years signals hope
Signs of stability have returned to the farm economy, and farmland values could rise 2.3 percent this year following a decline in 2016, federal data shows.
Environment
Articles
Preservationists cry foul over state plan to log 300 acres of state forest
Preservationists say they are concerned about the potential impact on recreation and endangered species. Forestry officials say selection techniques will be used to improve, not harm, the forest.
Fertilizer company moves forward with $2.8B project in Indiana
Midwest Fertilizer Co. will begin construction on its Posey County manufacturing facility next year. Construction is projected to support more than 2,500 jobs.
EPA chief discusses Clean Water Rule with Indiana officials
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency has discussed a federal water rule with Indiana officials, but environmental groups say they weren't included in the conversation.
Trust donating $4.9 million for White River improvement projects
The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust awarded the funds to nine organizations involved in a multi-year initiative to protect, restore and better use the White River.
Former Bell Aquaculture facilities in Indiana acquired for $14 million
Maynard, Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies plans to produce genetically engineered salmon at the facilities.
Dow Agro CEO to take job with farm equipment maker
The departure of Timothy Hassinger comes as Dow AgroSciences’ parent prepares to merge with chemical giant DuPont.
States sue over EPA’s decision to keep Dow Agro pesticide on market
Several states are seeking to join a legal challenge to a Trump administration decision to keep chlorpyrifos on the market, despite some studies showing it can harm children's brains.
Local environmental firm acquired by two private-equity firms
An Indianapolis-based environmental engineering firm that moved into a new downtown headquarters last year has been acquired by Chicago-based Woodlawn Partners LLC and Detroit-based Peninsula Capital Partners LLC.
Oversupply sends egg prices to their lowest in a decade
The slump marks a sharp turnaround in the egg business. In 2015, an avian influenza outbreak forced farmers to destroy millions of birds and prices skyrocketed.
Indiana mayor questions trail plan funding, maintenance
Anderson Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. is withholding support of the Mounds Greenway, the proposed trail along the White River between Muncie and Indianapolis.
Greenwood officials dropping tax breaks for Monsanto project
Agribusiness giant Monsanto Co. is considering whether to go ahead with a planned seed-processing and distribution facility after Greenwood's mayor dropped his support for providing property tax breaks toward the project.
Land trust closes majority of deal to preserve property along White River
The Central Indiana Land Trust says it has raised $2.2 million of the $2.7 million it needs to establish White River Bluffs and preserve 12.2 wooded acres along the White River in Indianapolis.
California insurance boss under fire for climate initiative
Officials from Oklahoma and more than a dozen other states—including Indiana—have sent two letters to California’s insurance commissioner, asking that he stop pressing insurance companies to publicly disclose fossil fuel investments and divest from the coal industry.
Round barns becoming more rare in Indiana
According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, there used to be 219 round and polygonal barns in the state—three times as many as remain standing today.
Insurers: We’re off the hook, Duke Energy knew coal ash risk
Dozens of insurance companies say they're not obligated to help pay for Duke Energy Corp.'s multi-billion-dollar coal ash cleanup because the nation's largest electric company new the threat of potentially toxic pollutants.
Indiana native named to rural affairs USDA post
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced Monday that Anne Hazlett will lead the USDA's rural development agencies.
Monsanto planning $29M seed facility in Greenwood
The company said it plans to lease a new 140,000-square-foot building in Southtech Business Park where it will process, package and distribute corn, soybean and cotton seed for field testing.
New use hoped for polluted area parts plant
The site in Noblesville has gone unused since Bridgestone Firestone closed its 300-worker air-spring manufacturing plant in 2009.
Rain, cold weather delays corn crop planting in Indiana
Heavy rains across the state flooded some farmers' fields, and cold weather has also prevented the development of early seedlings and plants.