Agriculture

Genetically modified plants grown from seeds engineered in labs now provide much of the food we eat. Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States have been genetically modified to resist pesticides or insects, and corn and soy are common food ingredients.
USDA: Food prices to spike up to 4 pct. in 2011
Food prices are expected to rise as much as 4 percent this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Meat prices will show some of the biggest gains.
Farmland boom provides bright spot for Midwest real estate
Farmers and investors across the Midwest are bidding up cropland at auctions like the one in Jefferson as commodity prices surge. Farmland values in the central U.S. increased the most in at least two years in the fourth quarter, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said yesterday.
U.S. reserves of corn have hit their lowest level in more than 15 years, reflecting tighter supplies that will lead to higher food prices in 2011. Increasing demand for corn from the ethanol industry is a major reason for the decline.
USDA: Farmers can plant genetically modified beets
The U.S. Agriculture Department says farmers will be allowed to grow genetically modified sugar beets this year, while it finishes work on a full environmental impact statement on the beets' effect on other crops and the environment.
Judge orders mediation in SweeTango apple lawsuit
A judge has dismissed most legal claims against the University of Minnesota in a lawsuit over licensing rights to the new SweeTango apple, and ordered the parties into mediation to try to resolve the dispute.
Wells Fargo & Co. will boost agriculture lending this year as producer costs climb, said Rod Alt, a senior vice president in the bank's food and agribusiness division.
A new program offers discounts on farm business management education to Minnesota farmers switching land or dairy cows to organic production.