Insights and Stories on Grapes

Sep. 20, 2015 at 10:17 am CDT

Sydney | Reuters — A pioneering Australian scheme to improve the management of water in the world’s driest inhabited continent is facing its first real test as an intensifying El Nino threatens crops and builds tensions between farmers and environmentalists. The three-year old management plan for the Murray-Darling basin, an […]

By Colin Packham

Sep. 17, 2015 at 7:10 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — Sales from organic U.S. farms reached US$5.5 billion last year, a 72 per cent increase from 2008, the U.S. Agriculture Department said in a report on Thursday that highlighted the consumer trend toward such products. The USDA data, compiled through farmer surveys, showed that milk was […]

By Tom Polansek

Sep. 8, 2015 at 12:46 am CDT

Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission announced a 500 million-euro (C$743 million) package of measures on Monday to provide relief for farmers stung by slumping prices, triggered partly by the loss of exports to Russia due to EU sanctions against the country. The crisis has triggered a wave of […]

By Nigel Hunt

Sep. 7, 2015 at 11:56 pm CDT

Zurich | Reuters — Germany’s Bayer has advised wine grape growers not to use its Moon Privilege fungicide until its Bayer CropScience arm has investigated whether there’s a connection between the product’s use and reported crop damage. Growers have reported deformed leaves and lower yields from their crops this year. […]

By Reuters

Aug. 21, 2015 at 2:42 pm CDT

Deer. Sure, they’re magnificent in the wild, with their big dewy eyes, licorice noses and flashing white tails effortlessly clearing fences as if bouncing off hidden trampolines. But when they chow down on your garden, benevolence turns to malevolence. Where deer are plentiful protecting produce can be a big job […]

By Allan Dawson