Tag Archives: farming

Endorsement watch: For the hospital bond

Posted on September 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good call. It’s unacceptable for a public hospital whose mission is to save lives to instead endanger them due to aging infrastructure that’s been neglected for too long. The pipe break was the second of three in 2020. Just weeks … Continue reading →

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Texas Department of Agriculture sort of recognizes climate change

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start, I guess. On the heels of a historic drought that devastated crops from the High Plains to South Texas, a new Texas Department of Agriculture report released Tuesday linked climate change with food insecurity and identified it … Continue reading →

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Vertical farming

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Scaling scissor lifts are a daily duty for a vertical farmer overseeing the growth of about 10 million heads of lettuce annually from Kalera’s 4.5-acre indoor farm located in the Parc-59 industrial park in North Houston. Kalera, an Orlando-based vertical … Continue reading →

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The freeze effect on farmers

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As you might imagine, single digit temperatures are not good for agriculture. Well before the sun finally broke through the cloudy and icy haze in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley last week, Dale Murden knew he was in for a bad … Continue reading →

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Now we get to worry about food

Posted on February 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Because the supply chain also suffered from the massive power outages. The state’s week of weather hell started with a deadly 133-car pileup outside of Fort Worth. A winter storm unlike any Texas has ever seen quickly followed, and seven … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Where have all the Christmas tree farmers gone?

Posted on December 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

They’re not growing them like they used to. Across the U.S., Christmas tree farmers are getting out of the business. Illinois lost dozens of farmers in recent years, dropping from 212 growers in 2012 to 182 farmers in 2017, according … Continue reading →

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Algae farms

Posted on July 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Food for the future. Inside a high-tech lab in a modular building in the West Texas desert here, a young scientist peered through a microscope at a slide of live and multiplying algae. She was on the prowl for “grazers,” … Continue reading →

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Trump trade war troubles

Posted on July 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. There’s a Chinese proverb: Sow melons, reap melons. Sow beans, reap beans. In other words, expect tit for tat. President Donald Trump — and by extension many of the nation’s farmers — … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 41 Comments

Ostriching

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember when ostrich farms were the next big thing? Over the last few years, there’s been renewed interest in ostrich farming in the United States, particularly in Texas. The industry peaked in the 1990s, before inflated prices for birds … Continue reading →

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National ag groups not happy with Republicans

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all about immigration reform. Craig Regelbrugge, who co-chairs the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform, says a large majority of his group’s members — which include large and small farming enterprises and growers all around the country — are Republican, … Continue reading →

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More on the foodie caucus

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has an update. On a mission to advance the local food movement, a Democrat from Austin is finding common ground with Republicans and rural Texans. When Republicans hear a Democrat saying there’s “too much regulation, their ears perk … Continue reading →

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The foodie caucus

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, an Austin Democrat and admitted foodie, is creating the Farm to Table Caucus of the Texas House. Rodriguez is expected to send letters to all of the House’s 150 members Monday and invite … Continue reading →

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Urban farming

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege wants to be more supportive of it. For the first time that anyone could recall, the Texas House Agriculture and Livestock committee had a joint hearing with the House Urban Affairs committee to discuss ways to help expand … Continue reading →

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Hens for Houston

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Looking for a new cause to get involved in? Here’s a movement to allow people to raise hens in Houston. Vision: “Hens for Houston” is working to promote a sustainable and progressive Houston in which city dwellers can keep 4-6 … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Local food

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One of the more interesting results from this year’s Houston Area Survey was the attitude expressed about locally grown food. From a Houston Tomorrow press release: An overwhelming majority of Houstonians feel that it is important to be able to … Continue reading →

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