The Digest is delayed this week due to a mangled thumb and a heavy workload, but we’ve got a special snack for you that I hope will become a regular feature. Brian Depew and his comrades at the Center for Rural Affairs have offered to do a weekly roundup of links to news stories about farm & rural topics. They have a different perspective, and thus a whole different set of RSS feeds, than we do.
Here’s Brian on what they’re all about:
The Center for Rural Affairs was formed in 1973 by rural Nebraskans concerned about the future of family farms and rural communities. We work to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities across the nation. The center has evolved into one of the nation’s leading rural organizations, known for our pioneering work to rebuild rural America and our national work to reform federal policy. Find out more on our website or our Blog for Rural America.
Creamed wheat: Colorado wheat farmers are hauling record yields to market so fast that bin space is running out and the golden grain is being piled on the ground where wind, rain, and weather threaten it. Ironically, market demand (and prices) for the grain are high, but the Colorado grain is languishing due to a lack of transportation capacity. (LA Times)
Geriagriculture: Only one profession’s workers are older on average than farmers. (BoomtownUSA)
In-plant insect protection: Dow AgroChemical is preparing to take genetically modified corn to the next level. New varieties will be resistant to a wide range of chemicals, and include "in-plant insect protection." Want some corn with those chemicals? (Hoosier Ag Today)
Where have all the farmers gone? Writer and photographer Gary Anthes travels to Nebraska, where he found emptied-out towns, abandoned farm houses and towering grain elevators standing tribute to years gone by when farming was an economic driver of the Great Plains. (Washington Post)
Growing a different crop: Locally- and farmer-owned wind generation and ethanol production can help revitalize rural communities. But a focus on "more, more, more" could to turn renewable energy into just another big commodity. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
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