Locals weigh in on greenbelt (239) Oct 26, 2009
That was the cluster zoning, one parcel per five acres ... Absent that, the compromise is to allow farmers one parcel per five acres ... If they can't get a cohesive chunk of land, 100 or 120 acres. (Lodi News Sentinel, CA)
$10.9 million Arcadia farmhouse for sale Oct 24, 2009
When it was finished in December 1971, the Lo Piccolos called the home Nordon Manor, a nearly 5-acre spread that also included a gatehouse, an icehouse and an underground garage ... That is if the couple can find a buyer who treasures it, not just someone looking for a teardown house with some acreage ... "It's going to take someone like my wife and myself that specifically like that type of architecture," said Lo Piccolo, who paid $75,000 for his 5-acre property in the late 1960s. (AZCentral -- Home)
Cotton gin operators squeezed by prices, weather Oct 24, 2009
2 million acres were planted in 2006, cotton acreage has declined steadily to 500,000 acres this year _ a drop of 57 percent ... This year's 30 percent loss translates to 3/4 of a bushel left on the ground for every acre planted ... But if corn and soybean prices don't improve, Barber said Arkansas cotton acreage could increase a little next year. (Pine Bluff Commercial, AR)
Book Marks Anniversary of Garden's Climatron Oct 24, 2009
The Climatron rises 70 feet in the center with no interior support, allowing generous light and space for the 24,000 square feet (more than half an acre) of tropical rain forest plants within - an increasing number of which are endangered in the wild. The experience of setting foot in the conservatory is one of "immersion, sensory abandon, submission to an almost primeval overload of plants, smells, and humidity . . . a fantasy of what nature might have once been, a sensual engulfment . . . ,"... (Missourian Publishing, MO)
Getting creative Oct 24, 2009
Creation Gardens husband-and-wife owners Ron Turnier and Mollie Turnier have purchase agreements to buy three parcels totaling about an acre and a half a 0. 7 acre parcel from Service Welding, the property at 725 E. Market St., and a parking lot in between the funeral home and the Service Welding property. (Louisville Business First, KY)
Corn & Soybean Trade Higher Oct 23, 2009
5 bushels per acre greater than the USDA 42. 4 number last week. (Agri-View, WI)
Market Forecaster Soybeans closed the week 13.5 cents higher Oct 23, 2009
We are hearing a lot of harvest reports from the southern United States where yields are excellent with most fields between 65 bushels per acre and 75 bushels per acre. Yields are also excellent in the eastern Corn Belt with yields in Indiana and Illinois between 55 bushels per acre and 75 bushels per acre ... Yields in the western Corn Belt are also very good, but more variable at 45 bushels per acre to 65 bushels per acre. (Sioux Falls Tri-State Neighbor, SD)
Kenyan Farmers in a Dilemma After Retailers Run Out of Maize Seed Oct 22, 2009
He said the ministry had been distributing the seeds in public barazas and open days in many parts of the country to farmers who own less than one acre. "Nation can join us on Wednesday and Thursday when the minister for Agriculture, Mr William Ruto, and the deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta tour Kiambu, Thika, Murang'a and Nyeri to distribute some maize seeds," he said on Monday. (allAfrica.com)
Palm Springs Vacation Oct 22, 2009
Today, the Agua Caliente Band is the largest landowners in the city with nearly 6,700 acres within the city limits. Sonny Bono of the singing duo Sonny & Cher was Mayor of Palm Springs for many years. (Suite101.com)
Volkswagen's Big Russian Dreams Oct 22, 2009
By next year, 3,000 workers are expected to be employed at the 400 hectare (988 acre) plant and future expansion hasn't been ruled out. Workers at the plant will mostly produce vehicles from the company's VW and Skoda lines and Volkswagen is hoping to use the factory as a beachhead from which it can finally conquer the Russian market. (BusinessWeek)
'It probably would have broken all records' Oct 22, 2009
This crop probably would have broken all records for pounds of sugar per acre, Reed said this week ... He is president of the Big Horn Basin Beet Growers Association, which has 70 grower-members working about 17,600 acres ... These include the uncertainty of future fall weather, sugar content of the beets (this will decrease since the beets in the ground are attempting to grow new tops, and that will draw from the sugar that was stored in each beet), and the yield per acre. (Cody Enterprise, WY)
Holbrook Farm opened at end of driveway Oct 22, 2009
Billings s garden is about 400 to 500 square feet, and his pumpkin patch, where he has planted pumpkins for several years for his daughters and friends, is about a quarter of an acre. It was something to do, Billings said of his farm stand. (Holbrook Sun, MA)
Loss of UC program hurts crop research Oct 21, 2009
Over the last decade, California farmers -- including those in the Valley -- have quietly and some would say secretively grown the blueberry industry from fewer than 200 acres to about 5,000 today ... Hundreds of acres of crops grow in a circular patches on Diener's land ... Uncertainty looms for west-side farmers who were forced to fallow thousands of acres in the wake of a third dry year and a dismal water allocation. (Fresno Bee)
Walk-Through: 1190 E. Napa St., Sonoma Oct 21, 2009
Lot is just under an acre. Built: Store built in 1914; cottages built in 1930s. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Business)
Minnetrista's farm-heavy history Oct 20, 2009
The 80 acres there were bought in 1891 ... Case in point: A housing development is planned for a 488 acre parcel, that includes farmland, next to Kings Point Road. (Minnetonka Lakeshore Weekly News, MN)
Airport community rejects composting plan Oct 20, 2009
But the airport community has lashed out against the proposed location for the new operation: a four-acre parcel in the southeast portion of the airport, next to the water-treatment plant ... What would be wrong about "undedicating" the 4 acres from Byxbee Park and just building the state of the art composting facility there ... I'm personally sick and tired of all the worshiping of sacred cows that goes on around here. (Palo Alto Online, CA)
America's coolest small towns Oct 20, 2009
She picked up the converted 1860s French Creole-style house and opened Maison Des Amis, a B&B with a half acre of landscaped gardens and a gazebo looking out on the bayou in the back (111 Washington St., , from $100). "Locals in Breaux Bridge are just friendly and generous," she says. (CNN)
Lund starting to pack away equipment for the winter (3) Oct 18, 2009
They only needed to harvest 80 acres so they took a three-day break and went to Bozeman, Mont ... I drove by one field of barley in Bozeman that looked like it had to be a 100-bushel an acre field and I wanted to say to the guy hey, when you start harvesting would you mind if I just ride in the combine with you. (Great Falls Prairie Star, MT)
JIM DODSON: What Next in Kiddie Sequels? Oct 18, 2009
A fellow book lover called up in a lather the other day to ask if I'd seen "Return to the Hundred Acre Wood," the authorized sequel to A.A Milne's beloved children's classic "Winnie-the-Pooh." ... "Is nothing sacred?" she huffed ... The old fella kindly took me on an impromptu hike through the edge of the Five Hundred Acre Wood that was the inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood in the book. (The Pilot Newspaper)
Kenya: Proposed Law to Rid Country of Rampant Public Land-Grabbing Oct 17, 2009
In areas like Kisii, Central and parts of western Kenya, land has been fragmented into small units of less than quarter of an acre. Large chunks. (allAfrica.com)
New Economics’ of Manure in This Era of Change Oct 17, 2009
An inch of rain on one acre of storage can cost anywhere from 270 to 600 to apply; it s a bigger bill considering 18 net inches of rain in Wisconsin typically. Even leaving a garden hose running in the parlor for 2 minutes a day can mean 100 to 220 a year in extra hauling costs. (Minnesota Farm Guide, MN)
Brainstorming Ways to Make Manure Pay Oct 17, 2009
He shared an example of two producers with 20-acre fields who make such a field trade and save two miles on the road each way. Three loads per acre come to 240 miles and 10 hours saved ... Their total acreages of corn silage won t change all that much. (Minnesota Farm Guide, MN)
Harvest in ruin: Excessive rain costs farmers $377M Oct 16, 2009
6 million acres of row crops - cotton, soybeans, sweet potatoes, corn and rice - was harvested before rain soaked and flooded fields throughout the state. "I'd say 90 percent of farmers are not done with harvest," said Leland farmer Kenny Fratesi, who planted about 4,000 acres of soybeans ... 2 million acres and before the rainfall had an estimated value of $700 million. (The Clarion-Ledger)
Eco-chic, new construction colonial in Wellesley Oct 16, 2009
Photo courtesy of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage A modern, newly constructed four-bedroom colonial 23 Boulder Brook Road in Wellesley offers a traditionally attractive aesthetic and nearly 5,000 square feet of living space, while also being intuitive enough to earn a silver certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. By John Ciampa/Townsman correspondent GateHouse News Service Posted Oct 15, 2009 @ 04:29 PM. (Wellesley Townsman, MA)
Artistic downtown renewal Oct 16, 2009
For Russ Haan and Mike Oleskow, it was the perfect site for their inner-city renewal project: a quarter-acre of dirt on the north side of McDowell Road between My Florist Cafe and Phoenix Art Museum ... One building, one vision can transform a quarter acre of land. (AZCentral -- Home)
Wild rice, clear water: crop a boon to Northern ecosystems Oct 15, 2009
Planting an acre here or there wouldn't do much for the lakes as a system. Cheap project. (Chetek Alert, WI)
Meet the Celebrity Gardener Oct 14, 2009
Yamashita could easily expand his operation, which consists of six greenhouses on an acre of land behind his house. He has a waiting list of prospective customers, including the in-house restaurants of swanky Paris hotels Le Meurice, the Bristol, and L'H tel de Crillon. (BusinessWeek)
John D. Lukacs Oct 13, 2009
Dooley soon befriended renowned University of Georgia horticulturists Michael Dirr and Allan Armitage, and turned the property surrounding his Athens home into a beautiful, five acre all-seasons botanical garden laced with meandering paths, burbling streams and waterfall ponds, and filled with thousands of plants, flowers and trees, the Latin names of which Dooley has memorized as if from a plant playbook. Among many others, there are camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons, ferns, Asiatic jasmine,... (ESPN -- College Football)
Ky. Lawmaker Pushes Industrial Hemp Farming Oct 13, 2009
The bill also calls for a fee of $150 or $5 for each acre industrial hemp grown whichever is greater to be divided equally between the state and appropriate sheriff's department. Federal law prohibits American farmers from growing hemp. (ABC News -- Business)
Visitors from China's Henan province visit northeast Kansas Oct 13, 2009
Sarah Bowser, director of member services with the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association, also part of the tour, said some of the challenges the visitors will take home with them include adapting U.S. practices of farming large acreage per producer and converting those ideals into workable means for farmers who farm as little as one acre. Comments. (Midwest Bulls Eye, NE)
CARLY FIORINA: Restore water flow to Valley Oct 13, 2009
More profound was my visit later to the west Valley community of Huron where acre after acre of farmland sit fallow because of a lack of water ... Hundreds of thousands of acres in the San Joaquin Valley lie fallow this year. (Fresno Bee -- Opinion)
Development on Old San Antonio Road gets thumbs up (37) Oct 12, 2009
While the votes of the eight Planning and Zoning commissioners were split, the entire group seemed to agree that nothing more intense than a moderate-density single-family use is best for a 15-acre lot at Herff and Old San Antonio roads. Three commissioners voted against Commissioner Lad Mingus motion to recommend R-2 zoning for the 15-acre lot because they wanted a more restrictive zoning designation that would allow fewer houses to be built ... For an adjacent 14-acre tract that also... (Boerne Star, TX)
Fine-tune corn hybrid seed selection for 2010 crop (16) Oct 12, 2009
Since 1948, the average corn yield in Minnesota has increased steadily at a rate of 2 bushels per acre per year. This has been due to a combination of improved hybrids and agronomic practices, emphasizing the importance of decisions regarding hybrid selection. (Sioux Falls Tri-State Neighbor, SD)
More of this story Oct 12, 2009
He set aside the 100 acre tract in 1939, and then on May 27, 1948, the forest was officially dedicated in his honor ... Brooks said he was coming to Hamburg, and "the sunlight was shining through Ashley County's 100 acre wood first time ever, maybe." He said, "Tears came to my eyes and a sickness came to my stomach.". (Hamburg Ashley County Ledger, AR)
Winter Wheat Plant Height Doesn’t Predict Yield (14) Oct 12, 2009
In Wisconsin, many acres of wheat were planted later than normal due to delayed corn and soybean harvest, notes Conley ... 6 tons (100 percent dry matter) per acre ... Nitrogen was applied as ammonium nitrate (43 pounds of N per acre in the latter part of September and 34 pounds in the latter part of March). (Agri-View, WI)
History, happenstance Oct 11, 2009
Measuring 41 feet at its maximum height, the arch dam expands the natural lake's storage capacity to 21,000 acre feet and its surface to 435 acres. Every fall, Olson said, they draw the lake down to keep the ice pressure off the dam. (Montana Standard, MT)
Pioneer Talks Crops (2) Oct 11, 2009
Especially in today s tight dairy economy, it is important to maximize forage yields from every acre. Remember to continue to fertilize your alfalfa fields for maximum yield. (Agri-View, WI)
USDA forecasts record soybean, big corn harvest Oct 11, 2009
Neither comes as a surprise because more acres were planted this year and earlier forecasts also predicted a strong crop, said Lance Honig, chief of the crops branch for the Washington-based NASS, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture ... Yields or amount harvested per acre are forecast to average a record 164 ... 2 bushels per acre this year, up more than 10 bushels from 2008. (Minnesota Farm Guide, MN)
Crop of the Week: Sesbania Oct 11, 2009
In 50 days, sesbania can grow over 6 feet tall and produce more than 2 tons per acre of dry biomass. The plant sesbania captures nitrogen from the atmosphere. (Yuma Daily Sun, AZ)
20/20: Astor Fortune: Brooke's Iconic Trophies Oct 10, 2009
6 acre Westchester County estate totaled more than 10,000 square feet, including 24 rooms, 13 bedrooms and indoor and outdoor pools (below right); it was also known for its luxurious gardens. Holly Hill was managed by Astor's friend and butler Chris Ely until Anthony and Charlene Marshall closed down the home in January 2005, presumably to cut down on costs. (ABC News)
Planned park by Guthridge will open in December Oct 9, 2009
The size of the new park will be 32,010 square feet - approximately three-quarters of an acre. The cost of the project has been incorporated into the total of the $70 million budget for the construction of GW's newest residence hall, South Hall, on Square 80. (GW Hatchet, Washington DC)
Monsanto Forecasts African Farmers Will Increase Planting of Biotech Crops Oct 9, 2009
Burkina Faso plans to double the area planted with the companys insect-resistant cotton next year from 129,000 hectares (318,766 acres) this year, Natalie DiNicola, director at Monsantos public policy and sustainable yield division, said in an interview yesterday ... Area planted with GMO cotton rose by more than 158 percent this year, covering about 25 percent of Burkina Fasos cotton acreage, as the biotechnology is forecast to boost yield by 35 to 45 percent, DiNicola said ... The new... (Bloomberg)
Corn Trade Flat to Firm, Soybeans Flat Early, Then Slipped Oct 9, 2009
So the slow maturity remains a concern that is limiting downside in corn even though the yields continue to look big and many are expecting 2 to 5 bushels per acre yield increase on upcoming USDA reports ... If it stays wet in the week ahead it could limit selling interest, but talk about increased South American acres which could keep market bulls on the sidelines. (Agri-View, WI)
Low quality makes farmers to discount spring wheat Oct 9, 2009
North Dakota's 2009 crop is the largest in 13 years, thanks to a record yield, or bushels harvested per acre ... Jim Peterson, marketing director for the North Dakota Wheat Commission, said the average yield in the region this year might approach 50 bushels per acre, surpassing the 43 bushel-per-acre record set in 2004 ... For a farmer with yields of 40 bushels per acre, that adds up to about a $60,000 difference for a 1,000-acre wheat farm. (Fresno Bee -- Business)
Market Forecaster: Producers are planting less wheat this year Oct 9, 2009
While it is still very early, there have been some early yield reports from producers in Iowa where beans have been ranging from 55 bushels per acre to 68 bushels per acre. There are some areas of Nebraska that are reporting mid-40s for yields while producers in North Dakota have said they expect yields to average in the 20 bushels per acre range. (Sioux Falls Tri-State Neighbor, SD)
Conservation group honors farmer, rancher, students Oct 9, 2009
Since 2003, he has participated in LSWCD programs with 30 acres of cropland. Miriam M. Goetting, 2009 Rancher of the Year, a third generation rancher with a 4,000 acre cow and calf operation, lives near Laguna. (Grants Cibola County Beacon, NM)
In Search Of Wildlife-friendly Biofuels: Are Native Prairie Plants the Answer? Oct 8, 2009
And the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 capped CRP land at 32 million acres by 2010 ... One concern about using native prairie plants as bioenergy crops is a lower yield per acre planted. (Science Daily)
Harvest begins for some farmers, but most wait Oct 7, 2009
The harvested corn had a yield of 180 to 200 bushels to the acre in Lee County, and reports of 200-plus yields are starting to come into area elevators. "That was corn after beans, but the corn on corn looks pretty tough," Dodds said. (Fort Madison Daily Democrat, IO)
Buffett Calls Purchase of Hog-Products Firm CTB `Lucky Day' for Berkshire Oct 7, 2009
For all I know, that farm I bought, you know, 20 years ago, it may have bobbed around 8, you know, $1,800 an acre, 1,200, I dont even know anything about that. I just know that the farm, over time, will produce 120 bushels of corn per acre. (Bloomberg)
The Wrong Kind of "Organic" Farming: Biosolids Oct 6, 2009
8 acre picturesque rural setting ... Environmental assessments and soil testing provide site specific information, but can be cost-prohibitive when testing is thorough enough to account for acres of land. (RealtyTimes)
Bidders snap up Nouvelle at Natick condos Oct 6, 2009
2 acre rooftop garden complete with two putting greens - use of Club Nouvelle - a general purpose community area featuring a game room, billiard tables, a multimedia screening room and wine bar - and Bosse Nouvelle, the development's fitness center. Yee said that while living in Natick may not have all the conveniences of living in the city, he is glad it will be cheaper and a shorter commute to his job. (Framingham TAB, MA)
Market Forecaster Oct 6, 2009
U.S. and world producers are likely to decrease seeded acres again this fall as prices are well below last year's strong levels. I look for producers to again plant 2-4 million less acres compared to a year ago ... 1 million acres, down 10 percent from last year. (Midwest Bulls Eye, NE)
Smythe wins October Neighborhood Pride Award (234) Oct 5, 2009
On a cul-de-sac that borders the Opaeka a stream, it s one-quarter acre of therapy, the release says. She retired from Mahelona Hospital in 1992 as a nursing supervisor and moved into the Ahele Drive home to help her aging mother. (Lihue Garden Island, HA)
Harvest, like planting, off to slow start in the Tri-States Oct 3, 2009
The harvested corn had a yield of 180 to 200 bushels to the acre in Lee County, and reports of 200-plus yields are starting to come into area elevators ... No Lee County yields were posted last week, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated a 52 bushel per acre yield for Iowa ... 3 bushels to the acre, up six bushels from 2008. (Keokuk Daily Gate City, IO)
A Short Introduction to Oil Prices and Oil Inventories Oct 2, 2009
"----------- You've got me there Don. Now we are getting into philosophy. It is one thing to deal with mechanical and chemical systems, they are predictable------it is another thing entirely to deal with the vaugaries of human behaviors. One of the things I try to do is look at how the same or similar problems were handled in the past. I have an interest in history, especially US history, and have done quite a bit of re-enacting. That's how I learned about many of the ideas that I've latched... (Energy Pulse, CO)
Stakeholders optimistic in spite of obstacles Oct 2, 2009
Heres a plan wrote on Oct 1, 2009 9:31 PM:" A reasonable plan would involve fish ladders, disposing of salmon eating sea mammals at the mouth of the Klamath and putting a moratorium on fishing by tribes and all others of the salmon for a period of five years. Have the government pay the tribes for the lost fish while trying to recover the runs (the KBRA will force the taxpayer to pay for a tribal 90,000 acre forest and $100 million)and $20 million to Siskyou Co. Let's divide all that up and just... (Klamath Falls Herald & News, OR)
Obama administration agrees to review pumping cutbacks Oct 2, 2009
An acre-foot is enough water to cover an acre of land a foot deep, or enough to meet the needs of an average household for a year ... The district has 80,000 acres in western Kings County. (Hanford Sentinal, CA)
Biologist Eric Hansen carries on his father's legacy of preserving a threatened Central Valley snake (686) Sep 30, 2009
Earlier this month, the city of Lodi agreed to sell an easement on 20 acres of property it owns in the area as giant garter habitat ... Most developers in San Joaquin County participate in a plan that requires one acre to be preserved for every acre that is developed ... Instead of scouting out and preserving an acre of habitat, most participants simply pay a fee of roughly 14,500 per acre. (Lodi News Sentinel, CA)
ARKANSAS WHEAT ACREAGE COULD FALL TO 2006 LEVELS Sep 30, 2009
JONESBORO Arkansas wheat acreage may fall to near 2006 levels because of problems associated with this year s higher than normal rainfall and low commodity prices, according to an agricultural economist for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture ... Commodity prices, the late harvest of other crops planted in a planned rotation with wheat and a delayed planting window for the next wheat crop will cause many producers to cut back on the number of acres planted in wheat this fall, the... (Pine Bluff Commercial, AR)
Camelina acreage to increase next year in response to jet-fuel contract (150) Sep 30, 2009
Camelina acreage to increase next year in response to jet-fuel contract ... We had already been planning increased acreage in 2010, said Mike Waring, sales representative for Sustain-able Oils ... According to Waring, the DESC contract will provide for even more contracted acres next year, though exact numbers are not yet known. (Great Falls Prairie Star, MT)
Early Frost Scare Affecting Markets Sep 30, 2009
Informa released an early 2009 fall planting estimate; they look for winter wheat seedings to be down over 1 million acres versus last fall. There was some short covering early in the week following the rally in the row crops, but the negative USDA report last week will likely limit buying interest on bounces. (Agri-View, WI)
Ash from turning ethanol co-product to gas makes good fertilizer (20) Sep 30, 2009
It took about 4 pounds per acre of the potassium oxide-rich ash SDSU tested to raise soil test potassium by 1 part per million. In comparison, other studies that indicate 7 or 8 pounds of fertilizer potassium are needed to raise soil test potassium by one part per million. (Minnesota Farm Guide, MN)
Car fire ignites foothills fire -- quickly doused Sep 30, 2009
The fire was limited to about a half acre, Cimino said ... There are thousands of acres of grassland and forests in that area of the city and it takes the fire trucks 20 to 30 min. to get there. (Palo Alto Online, CA)
A fishy tale about California water Sep 30, 2009
Nearly a quarter-million acres worth of contracted federal irrigation deliveries have been cut from the big farms of the west side of the San Joaquin Valley in central California ... For those farmers and workers whose livelihoods depend on that parched acreage, the result is undeniably catastrophic ... Few, though, will honestly acknowledge, "I want 10,000 acres of almonds, but I realize that will mean a slightly saltier delta and less marine life," or, on the flip side, "I vote for more Delta... (Fresno Bee -- Opinion)
Crop dusting still popular in the Valley Sep 26, 2009
Some require a few ounces per acre rather than several pounds, according to Potter. That has helped keep flying cost effective. (Hanford Sentinal, CA)
