Business Beat

Right to farm (bill); Ste. Genevieve sand mine

Kristofor Husted — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:44:01 +0000

Dozens of Ste. Genevieve County residents met last night (Tuesday) with the company applying to open up a sand mine in their neighborhood. Locals fired questions at Mark Rust, owner of Summit Proppants, for four hours about health concerns, traffic safety and property values.

Missouri voters will get the chance to consider a constitutional amendment next fall that would affirm the rights of farmers to engage in modern farming and ranching practices. The state House and Senate passed the measure during the end of the legislative session last week. Harvest Public Media reports.

Conservation or ag land; climate change and Missouri wine

Kristofor Husted — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:37:03 +0000

With a new farm bill, farmers may have access to fewer dollars for conservation. For 27 years, the popular Conservation Reserve Program has transformed small parcels of land, contributing to cleaner water, more habitat for migrating birds and less soil erosion. But as Harvest Public Media’s Amy Mayer reports from Iowa, the program has been enrolling fewer acres in recent years and it’s not just budget cuts that could make it smaller still.

Endangered pallid sturgeon; new downtown grocery store

Kristofor Husted — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:54:34 +0000

Coming up we’ll hear about the new grocery store opening up show in downtown Columbia. But first, more than 20 years after being listed as an endangered species, the pallid sturgeon is just treading water in the Missouri River. Manmade channels, impounds and dams, commercial fishing and environmental contaminants all had been fingered in the demise of the species.

Rural Kansas tries to entice businesses; Community rallies to stop fort's job cuts

Kristofor Husted — Wed, 01 May 2013 22:23:13 +0000

GM animals; tax day for farmers

Kristofor Husted — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 22:16:34 +0000

Over the last year or so, at least 20 states have introduced bills that would require labeling of genetically modified food. The common point of contention is the pervasiveness of grains that have had their DNA altered. But some of these proposed laws – including one in Missouri – take aim specifically at genetically engineered meat or fish. And that got Harvest Public Media’s Abbie Fentress Swanson wondering: How close are we to actually eating genetically engineered animals? What she found out might surprise you.

Grain elevator explosions; school bond on ballot for third time

Kristofor Husted — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:01:33 +0000

Coming up we’ll delve into a small school district trying to get a bond passed for the third time.

But first, grain elevators across the country store billions of bushels of farm products like corn and wheat. They’re a staple of rural communities. But the dust that piles up in grain storage facilities is highly combustible – it can be six times more explosive than gun powder. Just one spark can send a blast that will shake the ground for miles.

GMO labeling and possible answer to end meth labs

Kristofor Husted — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 22:30:00 +0000

Whole Foods Market recently announced that by 2018, all products in its U-S and Canadian stores containing genetically modified organisms will be clearly labeled as such. The decision by the grocery chain -- which has been labeling some products as non-GMO for years now -- has pushed this strongly debated food labeling issue into the shopping aisle.

The real action, though, is heating up in state legislatures across the country. Harvest Public Media’s Abbie Fentress Swanson explains.

Not many of us are chemists.