Free Republic

Former Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), who was the first Vietnam veteran to serve in the United States Senate, is the latest Republican to back Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, Politico learned Sunday. Pressler, who said that in addition to casting an absentee ballot for Obama he'd donated $500 to the Illinois senator's campaign, cited the Democrat's response to the financial crisis as the primary reason for his decision. "I just got the feeling that Obama will be able to handle this financial crisis better, and I like his financial team of [former Treasury Secretary Robert] Rubin and [former Federal Reserve...

What is common corn smut? Common corn smut is a fungal disease that affects field, pop, and sweet corn, as well as the corn relative teosinte (Zea mexicana).

Te world only has 10 weeks worth of grain left, the lowest levels ever seen, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine is creating a "seismic" threat to global food supplies, Gro Intelligence CEO Sara Menker told the United Nations Security Council. "[T]he Russia-Ukraine war did not start the food security crisis. It simply added fuel to a fire that was long burning. A crisis we detected tremors from long before the COVID 19 pandemic exposed the fragility of our supply chains," Menker told the United Nations. Her software company, Gro Intelligence, uses human and artificial intelligence to predict food security and...

On Thanksgiving eve Attorney Sidney Powell filed a 104 Page BOMBSHELL COMPLAINT on massive voter fraud in the Georgia election this year. Then it was discovered that she simitaneously filed a complaint in Michigan as well. Then on Thanksgiving Day Sidney Powell retweeted two tweets by Liberty Times and Politics. The tweets included a court filing that includes information on Dominion and Edison Research’s connections to the Internet. We noted that the document identifies Dominion’s Trump-hater Eric Coomer is the inventor of the authentication function within the application. And then on page 16 of the legal filing the document identifies...

Until recently, most Americans had never heard the term “seed oils,” even though they’ve likely cooked with and consumed them for decades. It’s the catchy description coined by internet influencers, wellness gurus and some politicians to refer to common cooking oils — think canola, soybean and corn oil — that have long been staples in many home kitchens. Those fiery critics refer to the top refined vegetable oils as “the hateful eight” and claim that they’re fueling inflammation and high rates of chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new health secretary, has said Americans are...

How can carbon dioxide, which has been portrayed as a dangerous pollutant threatening the very existence of humankind, be considered even remotely beneficial? Sadly, such a question can be expected from people – children and adults – who have been fed irrational fears in place of well-established science that shows CO2 to be an irreplaceable food for plants and necessary for all life.

After five decades of inaction, the Food and Drug Administration revoked the authorization of brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in food on July 3, 2024. The additive bromine, used to stabilize fruit flavorings in beverages and sodas, has toxic effects and has already been banned in many places, including California, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. What was the agency’s excuse for its 50 years in limbo? The FDA insisted it was “waiting for more safety data.” Right. Consumer advocates called the FDA’s ban on brominated vegetable oil in food “a victory for public health.” Still, digging deeper, it is indisputable...

A coalition of energy, biofuel and agriculture groups, – including the Illinois Corn Growers Association – are taking their challenge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s emissions mandate to the nation’s highest court. The group filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the EPA’s decision to grant a waiver to California for its 2021-2025 electric vehicle mandate. Illinois lawmakers have considered adopting California’s strict EV policies. The petition asks the high court to throw out an appeals court decision that rejected legal arguments by 17 states over California’s EV mandate. The states had...

Granted, huitlacoche may look horrible. After all, it's a fungus that grows on corn. It's also known as Mexican truffles, corn mushrooms or “corn smut.” Wyoming chef Petrina Peart says the $50 per pound delicacy is hard to get but fun to try. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) Call them Mexican truffles, corn mushrooms or, if you’re a farmer, the much less appealing “corn smut.” Whatever you call this funky-looking fungus that grows on ears of corn, huitlacoche (pronounced wheat-la-KOH-chay) is a delicious, prized ingredient across Mexico that’s been catching on with gourmet chefs around the world. In Wyoming it’s much...

Use land for food, not folly.Climate change activists increasingly target agriculture as a primary source of greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. Too often this translates into condemnation of gentle cows or the pleasures of meat-eating, instead of drawing attention to proper farming practices and land management. This is especially true with respect to water use and the ethanol industry.Water in AgricultureAmerican agriculture has continued to be dominated by ever-larger farms and producers, increasing productivity and economic growth and amplifying vital water resources’ drawdowns. This is apparent in water-precious regions such as Arizona and California, but also includes Idaho’s exploding dairy...

TOKYO -- U.S. corn prices have slipped to their lowest levels in almost three years as China ramps up imports from Brazil, cutting into demand for American exports ahead of an expected bumper crop. Benchmark Chicago corn futures sank below $5 a bushel in late August and have remained down since. On Sept. 19, they dipped under $4.70 to the lowest since December 2020. This comes amid a drop in purchases by China, the world's largest consumer of corn. China's imports of U.S.-grown corn came to about 240,000 tonnes in August, down from nearly 1.5 million tonnes a year earlier,...

A few weeks ago, 42-year-old Jared Bossly ventured out into his farm to plant alfalfa. Bossly’s farm in Brown County, South Dakota has been owned by his family for four generations. They grow corn, beans, and alfalfa in addition to raising cattle. They also plant trees all over the property as a windbreak to protect the herd. Bossley has put his entire life into his work, and has passed those values along to his children. He and his 17-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son work on the farm daily to do the right things for the land. Every spare penny the...

A regulatory move within Mexico’s agricultural sector has U.S. farmers concerned it will "corn-er" their corn crop production. "Most farmers, my generation and younger, have never even used conventional corn. We're not set up to do it. We don't have the equipment to do it," Hinkel Farms' Elizabeth Hinkel told FOX Business’ Madison Alworth on "Mornings with Maria" Tuesday. "So it would be a huge investment if we had to go back to growing conventional. And on top of that, our yields would be decreased." American farmers are headed to Capitol Hill to voice concerns about Mexico’s proposed ban on...

(Last Updated On: January 10, 2023) NATIONAL POPCORN DAY On January 19th, National Popcorn Day pops onto the scene with a crunch we all love to enjoy! The annual celebration recognizes a treat that satisfies munchies, day or night. #NationalPopcornDay This time-honored snack can be sweet or savory, caramelized, buttered or plain, molded into a candied ball, or tossed with nuts and chocolate. However it is enjoyed, enjoy it on National Popcorn Day, January 19th. The word “corn” in Old English meant “grain” or, more specifically, the most prominent grain grown in a region. When Native Americans introduce their most...

An international team found that during this period, crops were being cultivated in a remote location in what is now northern Bolivia. The scientists believe that the humans who lived here were planting squash, cassava and maize. The inhabitants also created thousands of artificial islands in the forest. The end of the last ice age, around 12,000 years ago, saw a sustained rise in global temperatures... Researchers have previously unearthed evidence that crops were domesticated at four important locations around the world. So China saw the cultivation of rice, while in the Middle East it was grains, in Central America...

Small town farmer Orville Redenbacher has a lifelong dream of creating the perfect popcorn kernel, leading to the first significant development of popcorn in thousands of years which he sells nationwide, eventually pitting him against industry rivals for supremacy of America’s oldest snack.

WASHINGTON - Notes from the jury deliberating the fate of ex-White House aide Lewis (Scooter) Libby gave a hint there might be one or two holdouts on a conviction. "We would like clarification of the term 'reasonable doubt,'" the jury wrote to U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton on the eighth day of deliberations. "Is it necessary for the government to present evidence that it is not humanly possible for someone not to recall an event in order to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt?" The notes from the 11 jurors weighing the fate of Vice President Cheney's former chief of...

In 2007, the U.S. Congress mandated the blending of biofuels such as corn-based ethanol into gasoline. One of the top goals: reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But today, the nation´s ethanol plants produce more than double the climate-damaging pollution, per gallon of fuel production capacity, than the nation´s oil refineries, according to a Reuters analysis of federal data. The average ethanol plant chuffed out 1,187 metric tons of carbon emissions per million gallons of fuel capacity in 2020, the latest year data is available. The average oil refinery, by contrast, produced 533 metric tons of carbon. The ethanol plants´ high emissions...

Last month, Freeper ‘Mylife’ posted a recipe for a version of Mexican Street Corn, made as a ‘bowl’ or salad. When I went to try this, our stores didn’t yet have good fresh corn; so it’s still on my list. I’ve seen some recipes that suggest using frozen corn or canned corn, but I don’t suggest you do this – I don’t think it will really ‘char’ properly or taste right. Make this with fresh corn, carved off of the cob. For the cheese, as the recipe suggests, you can use Feta if your store doesn’t have Cotija, but a...

Less than 60 percent of America’s corn crop is in good or excellent condition, according to the latest Crop Progress report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As of Aug. 15, only 12 percent of America’s corn crop is in excellent condition; 45 percent in good condition; 27 percent in fair condition; 10 percent in poor condition; and six percent in very poor condition. In the USDA’s Crop Progress report published on July 17, 13 percent of the crop was rated excellent, 48 percent good, 25 percent fair, eight percent poor and three percent very poor. On June...