The Hand that Feeds U.S.

June 18, 2009

The Long Trip to New York

NEW YORK (June 17, 2009)—Last month, a group of Texas farmers traveled more than 2,000 miles to New York City to meet with urban reporters and talk about the importance of our rural communities. As it turns out, these farmers weren't as far away from home as they might have thought.

Among the group was Linda Raun, a rice farmer from the Gulf Coast of Texas whose very own rice was sitting right under her nose. Though miles away from her farm, Raun discovered that her product was sold right around the corner at a Whole Foods grocery store in New York City's Union Square. Raun had made the long trip to New York, and so, it seems, had her rice.

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The End-All, Be-All for Ethanol
by Andy Quinn, Bushmills Ethanol

One by one, every challenge against ethanol—produced from one of America's most plentiful, green renewable energy sources—has fallen flat in the face of facts.

But opponents have been successful in proving one thing about the times we live in if nothing at all about ethanol: when the facts aren't on your side, pour more money into public relations.

And, if that alone fails, reach for that last, failsafe weapon in the arsenal: ask a question that cannot be answered—at least not with any accuracy, if at all.

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Sour Profits Lead to Farmer Ownership in Sugar Business

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During the late 1800s, a wealthy investor named Henry Oxnard was busy cultivating America into an agricultural powerhouse.

He's best known for his namesake Oxnard, Calif.—a city of nearly 200,000 people that boasts two Naval bases and is widely considered to be the world's strawberry and lima bean capital.

But, he made most of his money jumpstarting America's sugarbeet industry, which now spans 11 states. The modern-day industry is far different than it was in Oxnard's time when rich investors were lined up to pool money into sugar production

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