Q&A: A big year for live Christmas trees
Bill Heidenreich is a fifth-generation owner of Heidenreich Greenhouses on the city’s south side and the small business is having the best year he can remember.
Agriculture/Farming
Articles
Ag firm creates big buzz with bee hive tech
The Bee Corp. has pioneered technology that can count the number of bees in a hive and monitor hive health, which is imperative for various crop growers globally.
Court orders FDA to assess environmental impact of modified salmon
The ruling centers on AquaBounty’s salmon, which are genetically modified to grow faster than normal salmon. After clearing other regulatory hurdles. AquaBounty began growing the fish in indoor tanks at an Indiana plant last year.
USDA approves Indiana’s plan for commercial hemp growing
Previously, hemp growers needed a research proposal and to be associated with a university to apply for a license. Under this newly approved plan, however, farmers can become independently licensed.
Spring freeze shortens fall apple season for Indiana orchards
The sub-freezing snaps—which led to severe fruit damage and significant crop loss—affected roughly 70% of the apple crop, said Peter Hirst, a tree fruit specialist at Purdue University.
Locally based Novus Capital to combine with Kentucky ag-tech firm
Novus and AppHarvest, a developer of large-scale and high-tech indoor farms, announced a deal on Tuesday will result in AppHarvest becoming a public company.
House easily passes stopgap funding bill, averting shutdown
In a sweeping bipartisan vote, the House passed a temporary government-wide funding bill Tuesday night, shortly after President Donald Trump prevailed in a behind-the-scenes fight over his farm bailout.
House Democrats hope to pass funding bill to avert shutdown
A mini-furor over farm subsidies is threatening to delay passage of the measure. It ignited when Democratic leaders left out a key provision for farmers. Democrats from farm country are reluctant to approve the measure without the GOP-backed provision.
Johnson County garden initiative forms to help alleviate hunger
As difficulty accessing food becomes more prevalent throughout Johnson County, and as more and more people take an interest in local food, a group of like-minded residents are banding together to address a growing problem.
USDA plans additional $14 billion for farmers reeling from virus
The federal government said Friday that it will give farmers the additional payments to compensate them for the difficulties they have experienced selling their crops, milk and meat because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Elanco’s big job: Making the Bayer deal work
Now that the company has closed its $6.9 billion acquisition of the German conglomerate’s animal-health division, it must now swiftly and carefully integrate the two sprawling companies in the midst of a pandemic.
Market Wagon looks to expand produce-delivery service nationwide
The 4-year-old company uses proprietary software and legions of small farmers and gig drivers to create an Amazon-like system that delivers fresh produce, meats, dairy products and other local food.
WALLIN: Government should loosen restrictions on hemp-derived CBD sales
Rather than a bailout from the federal government, what Indiana hemp farmers and small-business owners need is for the federal government to classify cannabidiol as a food additive or supplement.
Ugly produce is the best bargain at farmers markets. Here’s how to buy and use it.
Ugly produce, misfit produce, whatever you want to call it: Those misshapen, bumpy, sometimes holey fruits and vegetables can taste just as good as their more pristine cousins. At farmers markets, they’re typically referred to as seconds.
Fishers opening 33-acre AgriPark to the public starting next week
Described by city officials as the largest park in the country dedicated to a working farm, the 33-acre Fishers AgriPark at 11171 Florida Road is designed to offer an agricultural experience and educational opportunities about food production.
Frazier takes reins of AgriNovus with eyes on global impact
Former ExactTarget and TinderBox executive Mitch Frazier is bringing his global vision of agriculture and his knowledge of technology to AgriNovus Indiana, the agbioscience initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.
Pandemic set to spark biggest retreat from eating meat in decades
The shift is happening in every major market, including in the United States, where it’s predicted that per-capita meat consumption won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until at least after 2025.
FFA cancels national convention in Indy as downtown reels from tourism drought
The agriculture-education group cited lingering concerns over the coronavirus pandemic for scuttling the four-day event, which last year brought more than 68,000 people downtown.
Meat shortages reopen costly path to small U.S. slaughterhouses
Congress is considering amending laws to make it easier for smaller processors to sell products. But while new, smaller slaughterhouses could be the antidote to industry concentration, they don’t offer a quick, or inexpensive, fix.
Hoosier startup’s computerized vegetable-growing machine taking root
While Heliponix’s in-home computerized vegetable-growing machine has always seemed like a great idea, the coronavirus pandemic might be the push to get the wider public to realize what the company’s two young founders have been espousing since they germinated the startup as Purdue University seniors in the fall of 2016.