Free Republic

Robots have taken up residence at some small- and medium-sized dairy farms across the country, providing reliable and more efficient labor and helping the businesses remain viable. Plus, farmers say, the milking technology makes for happier, more productive cows. Dairy operations here and abroad have used robotic milkers for more than a decade. But with more manufacturers and dealerships emerging the U.S., the number of smaller farms in Iowa with the technology has doubled over the last two years, from roughly 20 to more than 40, and family farms in the Northeast also are plugging in. The cost of not...

Fourteen forestry workers from Honduras and Guatemala were killed when the van they were riding in pitched off a one-lane bridge into the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. It was the worst motor vehicle accident in Maine history. A single passenger survived when he was able to escape through the van's rear window and swim to the surface in 15 feet of water. The men were riding to a remote logging camp about 8 a.m. Thursday when they set out to cross a wooden bridge with no guardrails that spans the passage between Eagle Lake and Churchill Lake. State police troopers suspect...