Free Republic

The city of Cedar Rapids is still hoping to land a medical marijuana production center. That’s after state regulators passed over Iowa's second-largest city for a dispensary earlier this year. Iowa officials are currently reviewing four applications for the state’s second and last medical marijuana manufacturing license. One in-state company and three out-of-state companies are competing for the rights. It’s still not clear where in Iowa the center will go. But Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart is hopeful it’ll be in his city, which he said is strategically located near major highway routes and supports a diverse economy and workforce....

With regulations trending toward medical programs and adult-use in markets across the world, the cannabis industry is one of the fastest growing businesses, which means companies are looking for top talent to support and further their growth. It can be challenging to find qualified candidates due to stigma that still exists, as well as the job security issues that come with the startup nature of many cannabis companies. Despite these obstacles, the cannabis space is filled with passionate people dedicated to building a thriving industry, and more people like them are looking to make their mark. Here are some examples...

FRANKFORT — Consumer demand for healthier food in convenient packaging is fueling rapid growth at Graceland Fruit. "We have the capacity to process all kinds of fruit," said President and CEO Alan DeVore. Cherries, cranberries, blueberries and apples provide the bulk of Graceland's product. But Graceland also has processed a variety of more exotic products, like orange peel and mango. The company's sales have accelerated rapidly during the last five years as consumers scrambled to buy products that are vegan and gluten-free. The Frankfort processing plant runs three shifts five days a week. It just inked a deal with CranGrow...

A British company says it can greatly extend the range of crops grown in indoor growing formats beyond the established leafy greens and herbs. Discussions on the potential of urban and indoor farming invariably mention the need to feed a growing global population, forecast to reach 10 billion by the middle of the century, against a backdrop of climate change and depleted land and other resources. But so far, for technical and economic reasons, the movement has largely targeted leafy greens and herbs — relatively high-value but low-mass, low-calorie crops. Indeed, one successful London grower specialises in "micro-salads" sought by...

PHIPPSBURG, Maine (AP) — Frustrated by red tape and visa limits on foreign workers, tourism businesses from Maine to Missouri are turning to Puerto Ricans who are fleeing a shattered economy and devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. Bob Smith, owner of Sebasco Harbor Resort in Phippsburg, hired a half-dozen Puerto Ricans last summer for housekeeping, landscaping and kitchen work, providing relief to his overworked staff. This summer he is doubling the number, and he would like to hire even more. Louis Morales, 50, of Comerio, Puerto Rico, is happy to be here because he makes double the salary he would...

From a first-principles perspective, the task of feeding eight billion people boils down to converting energy from the sun into chemical energy in our bodies. Traditionally, solar energy is converted by photosynthesis into carbohydrates in plants (i.e., biomass), which are either eaten by the vegans amongst us, or fed to animals, for those with a carnivorous preference. Today, the process of feeding humanity is extremely inefficient. If we could radically reinvent what we eat, and how we create that food, what might you imagine that “future of food” would look like? In this post we’ll cover: 1.Vertical farms 2.CRISPR engineered...

VIENNA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Banana trees that fit in a test tube. Burgers made without a cow in sight. Fish farmed in the desert. Robots picking fruit. Welcome to the brave new world of food, where scientists are battling a global time-bomb of climate change, water scarcity, population growth and soaring obesity rates to find new ways to feed the future. With one in nine people already short of enough food to lead a healthy, active life, supporters pushing for a Second Green Revolution argue without major changes hunger will become one of the biggest threats to national security...

A new greenhouse in the region that will sell produce in Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati is about to start operations. BrightFarms said in a statement that the company is hiring 30 for its Wilmington greenhouse, which will grow greens, herbs and tomatoes year-round. BrightFarms produce is sold at major grocery chains like Wal-Mart and Kroger. The Irvington, N.Y.-based company markets its produce as a local option instead of shipping in produce from other states or out of the country. In 2016, BrightFarms raised $30.1 million in funding to expand beyond the three greenhouses it was operating at the time in...

•Bowery Farming is using robotics and software to raise crops in warehouses outside of big cities. •Jose Andres, Carla Hall and David Barber are among the star chefs who have invested in Bowery's indoor farming venture. •The U.N. projects that by 2050, food production will need to increase by about 60 percent to feed the growing global population....

Communists do not recognize the law of supply and demand and are not particularly adept at planning centralized economies based loosely on Marxist ideology I’m placing the thickly sliced uncured bacon in the pan and, when it begins to sizzle, the marvelous aroma fills the house. It is a memory from my childhood when Grandma Elena would render bacon fat into lard in her tiny kitchen. It was a preservative for chunks of pork she would seal with wax in glass jars that would feed us for an entire year. It was stored in the cellar, the dank, damp, and...

Gerawan's employees do not want to be unionized by the UFW or forced into union servitude by the California ALRB Surprising no one, on Nov. 27, the California Supreme Court upheld the dubious Mandatory Mediation and Conciliation law against Gerawan Farming. The California Supreme Court heard the Gerawan case last fall on whether the state’s attempting to force mandatory agricultural labor union contracts violates the constitutional safeguard of equal protection. Fresno-based peach grower Gerawan Farming is one of the largest agriculture employers in the state. The serious wrangling with the United Farm Workers Labor Union and ALRB began again in...

The Trump administration seems to be leaning towards allying with the oil refining industry in its fight against Big Corn and federal rules requiring the use of corn ethanol. Reuters reports that the U.S. EPA apparently granted an exemption to Andeavor, a large oil refiner, from having to comply with blending requirements as part of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) last month. The RFS requires refiners to blend biofuels, such as corn ethanol, into their refined fuels. If they can’t or find it too costly, they are required to purchase credits. The law dates back to 2007 under the George...

SIERRA VISTA — When Pam Chandler teamed up with Lisa Thompson to start a new farmers market, the duo didn’t expect the vendors at the market’s debut would be all women. Chandler, general manager at the Sierra Vista Co-op, came up with the idea to start the Sierra Vista Food Co-op Community Market with Thompson, owner of Thunder Mountain Alpaca Ranch, as a way to give business owners the chance to reach out to different clientele. The market will launch Jan. 6 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and open the first Saturday of every month in front of the...

CFP Championship 2018 live stream: Early Predictions for Alabama vs. Georgia. Alabama Vs. Georgia: 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship Game Odds And Expert Picks. The 2017 college football season comes to an exciting conclusion on Jan. 8, in Atlanta, Georgia, when the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship pairs the University of Alabama Crimson Tide against the University of Georgia Bulldogs. The teams officially booked their ticket to Atlanta on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2018, as each won their Playoff Semifinal, the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual and Allstate Sugar Bowl games, respectively. Critics would hate...

This is a bombshell because the agriculture industry, the governor's office, and the legislature knew the result could be the entire law being thrown out “The Marxians love of Democratic institutions was a stratagem only, a pious fraud for the deception of the masses within A Socialist community there is no room left for Freedom.”— Ludwig Von Mises California Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democrat-supermajority State Legislature hold the state Supreme Court’s purse strings. Evidence of this can be found in the Monday California Supreme Court 7-0 decision in the Gerawan Farming case.

Barre, VT - In late November most farmers are getting the winter cover crop in the ground. But, two farmers are preparing crops as if it were spring. Vermont is well know for agriculture, and in Barre a first of it's kind farm is coming to the state, vertical farming. "It's growing horizontally in layers or in our case vertically, and we go up 16 feet," said Greg Kelly. He and Jake Isham are co founders of Ceres Greens. The two men are taking farming to the next level, growing produce indoors, in vertical tubes. "What this industry is able...

HUMBOLDT, Tenn. (AP) — Tyson Foods Inc. plans to build a new chicken production complex in Tennessee, a $300 million project that is expected to create more than 1,500 jobs when the facility begins operations in late 2019, the company said Monday. The new plant in Humboldt, about 85 miles northeast of Memphis, will produce pre-packaged trays of fresh chicken for retail grocery stores nationwide, the Springdale, Arkansas-based company said in a statement before a news conference. The plant will help it meet strong consumer demand for its chicken. The announcement marks the second major economic development project Tyson has...

Is soil an essential element of organic farming? Or can a crop grown in a soil-free container still be considered organic? Since the launch of the National Organic Program in 2000, hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic crop systems have been eligible to use the coveted USDA Organic seal on their products, so long as their operations comply with all other USDA organic regulations. But some organic farmers say healthy soil is the non-negotiable foundation of organic methods, and for years they have objected to the inclusion of hydroponics in organic certification. In recent months, the discussion over organic hydroponics has become...

It’s easy to get lost in the idea of FICO Eataly World, dubbed by many in the media as the “Disney World of food.” The park, located 30 minutes east of Bologna, Italy and open to the public today, is less of a Disney World and more of a industrial showroom and souped-up mall food court with contrasting surprises. There’s a dairy plant and outdoor livestock stalls housing more than 200 cows, goats, and chickens. There’s a mini-plot of forest land that’s home to truffle dogs (aka some of the sweetest Labradors around) who show guests how they can sniff...

Swarms of drones buzz overhead, while robotic vehicles crawl across the landscape. Orbiting satellites snap high-resolution images of the scene far below. Not one human being can be seen in the pre-dawn glow spreading across the land. This isn’t some post-apocalyptic vision of the future à la The Terminator. This is a snapshot of the farm of the future. Every phase of the operation—from seed to harvest—may someday be automated, without the need to ever get one’s fingernails dirty. In fact, it’s science fiction already being engineered into reality. Today, robots empowered with artificial intelligence can zap weeds with preternatural...