Coyotes continue to kill livestock and pets in growing numbers across Virginia. In 2005, coyotes killed 433 sheep, 40 calves and 62 goats in 2005. That’s a 50 percent increase in sheep losses from the previous year, and a 51% increase in goat losses.
[Read](http://www.vafb.com/news/2006/june/060806_2.htm) (Virginia Farm Bureau)
According to data from the Virginia Farm Bureau, the state’s once-healthy apple trade is ailing. From 1997 to 2002, in the Valley’s northern sector, the number of apple orchards dropped from 91 to 54, and growers in the middle of the Valley are experiencing hard times, too.
[Read](http://www.dailynews-record.com/news_details.php?AID=4392&CHID=2) (Harrisonburg Daily News Record)
Organic foods are popping up everywhere, but confusing labels and corporate influence may spoil the deal.
[Read](http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0517/p13s01-lifo.html) (Christian Science Monitor)
For milk to be labeled organic, the USDA says that cows must be raised on pesticide-free feed, without hormones, but it doesn’t regulate how much time the cows must spend out in pasture. As organic mega-dairies with thousands of cows sprout up across the country, small-dairy farmers complain that some so-called “organic” cows don’t get enough pasture time.
[Read and Listen](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5389487) (NPR)
Virginia regulators have given the go-ahead to three major Chesapeake Bay oyster projects that could raise millions of genetically engineered “native” oysters for harvest each year. Officials hope the projects will help restore water quality and failing oyster stocks.
[Read](http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137835948490&path=!news&s=1045855934842) (Richmond Times Dispatch)
The Southeast usually receives most of its rainfall during the fall and winter months, when its lakes, rivers and groundwater supplies are recharged, but that didn’t occur this year, and dry conditions have continued into the spring. A section of central North Carolina already is classified as being in a severe drought, while Virginia and most of North Carolina are in a moderate drought. Virginia had the driest March since record-keeping began in 1895, and some shallow wells were reportedly running dry in eastern North Carolina.
[Read](http://southeastfarmpress.com/news/050806-Southeast-drought/) (Southeast Farm Press)
A 12-year-old Blacksburg Middle School student is the only member of the Montgomery County 4-H Livestock Club who still shows pigs in competition. He had to travel to Lexington to show the pigs at the Roanoke Area Livestock Show, because it was the only show within a reasonable travel distance.
[Read](http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/62597) (Roanoke Times)
This is another indicator that this region is changing from a rural area to a suburban area. Why was the Roanoke Area Livestock Show held in Lexington? Why wasn’t it held in Roanoke or Salem?
A device the size of a credit card could enable farmers to quickly and easily convert vegetable oil into alternative fuel.
[Read](http://www.wired.com/news/wireservice/0,70702-0.html?tw=rss.index) (AP via Wired)
Agriculture officials in the Carolinas are bracing for an invasion of [killer bees](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_bee) that could threaten humans and livestock and interfere with growing crops, such as strawberries and watermelons. After the bees arrive in North Carolina, it’s possible that the African bees, natives of the tropics, will have a tough time surviving N.C. winters, but no one knows for sure.
[Read](http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/14308234.htm) (Kansas City Star)
Virginia’s peanut crop is expected to hit a record low this year.
A survey by the National Agricultural Statistics Service found that Virginia farmers expected to plant 15-thousand acres of peanuts this year,down 35 percent from a year ago.
[Read](http://www.wtkr.com/Global/story.asp?S=4740043&nav=ZolHbyvj) (AP via WTKR)
More than 300 families draw food from a 14-acre garden in South Central Los Angeles that faces seizure by a real-estate developer bent on converting it into a warehouse, unless the community can stop the takeover.
[Read](http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3027) (The NewStandard)
The Maryland Department of Agriculture has imposed a swine quarantine on a 112-acre Carroll County farm and banned the sale and slaughter of pigs there after federal, state and county agents discovered decomposing carcasses, piles of bones and livestock feeding on rotting trash.
[Read](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/carroll/bal-md.ca.inspect04apr04,0,5985946.story?coll=bal-local-carroll) (Baltimore Sun)
Although drought may be the best known barrier to successful crops in Africa, poor soils are a huge part of the equation. Farmland in Africa has been robbed of chemicals such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which are vital for plant growth. These have not been replaced with organic and chemical fertilizers, as they are in most other countries, because of the expense.
[Read](http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060327/full/060327-15.html) (Nature)
The guest worker program in the United States has failed to bridge the gap between farmers and the workers they need to employ.
Farmers complain that the program is simply too expensive. It sets a floor for pay , a regional average of the wages in several farm occupations , that will rise this year to $8.51 an hour from $8.24 in 2005. Farmers must also house the workers and pay workers’ compensation.
For many farmers, illegal immigrants provide a cheaper alternative that involves far less bother than the guest worker program. North Carolina farmers can harvest their crops paying $6 to $6.50 an hour , no workers comp, no recruitment fees , to “green card” workers or “otherwise documented” workers. Those are euphemisms for immigrants unlawfully in the United States, who typically show up with a fake green card to get a job.
[Read](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/business/23guest.html?ex=1300770000&en=cffc222b2ad59bfe&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss) (New York Times)
Wal-Mart plans to be the mass-market provider of organic food, and will double its organic offerings over the next couple of weeks.
Read (Reuters)