To make a living growing sugar beets, you need the conditions to be just right. Rich, fertile soil. A long, cool fall. Plenty of rainfall.  And a lot of help from the United States federal government. Minnesota’s got those first parts covered: the area centered around the Red River has the richest land and best climate for sugar beets in the U.S., making one of the most productive growing regions in the world. Those things won’t change, at least not anytime soon. [node:read-more:link]

Researchers from New York University (NYU) have shown why fast-food menu calorie counts do not help consumers make healthy choices in a new study published in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing.  The researchers found that only a small fraction of fast-food eaters — as few as 8% — are likely to make healthy choices as a result of current calorie labeling. [node:read-more:link]

The first thing Billy Ryan does after he arrives at work most mornings is drive to a yacht club or construction company lot, crawl into a mangrove, and stand for 60 seconds to count the mosquitoes that land on him. If there are five or more, he’ll request that a crew come spray the area the next day. From there, the 56-year-old inspector with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District will visit commercial and residential properties, hunting for standing water and the mosquito larvae and pupae that are frequently found within it. [node:read-more:link]

Haller, a 65-year-old widow with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who uses an oxygen generator, was rushed to the emergency room several times this year because of breathing problems her doctors said were exacerbated by the mold. She badly needed help, but couldn’t afford the repairs.  Last month, the Harpswell Aging at Home team came to Haller’s rescue. [node:read-more:link]

To the red-and-blue map of American politics, it may be time to add green. [node:read-more:link]

Four of Australia’s wealthiest farming barons have launched a counterbid to prevent Chinese investors from buying the country’s largest cattle farm, S. Kidman & Co.  The BBHO consortium—comprising the families of influential Australian outback ranchers Tom Brinkworth, Sterling Buntine, Malcolm Harris and Viv Oldfield whose interests span livestock, grain and transport—said on Sunday it had secured financing to offer 386 million Australian dollars (US$294 million) for 100% of Kidman’s shares in what would be one of the country’s biggest agribusiness deals on record. [node:read-more:link]

But now it’s no longer enough to claim a product is simply free of something that’s frowned upon. Consumers want to know that the bad ingredient hasn’t been replaced with something equally bad or worse. And they want to know the story behind their food—how it was grown or raised, and whether its production and distribution was kind to the environment. The less processed and simpler the ingredients, the better. That has left food and restaurant companies rushing to clean up their labels with ingredients derived from natural sources consumers can understand and pronounce. [node:read-more:link]

Seaford, Del.-based chicken producer and processor Allen Harim Foods announced plans to invest $22 million to build a state-of-the art hatchery in Dagsboro, Del., that will have an egg-set capacity of 2.5 million eggs per week. [node:read-more:link]

The court recently remanded a 2015 civil suit over an injured dog back to Toledo Municipal Court for a hearing on damages awarded in the case by determining “substantial justice was not done” by the trial court in awarding the plaintiff only $400 — or the dog’s market value — in December.  “We agree with and acknowledge that pets do not have the same characteristics as other forms of personal property, such as a table or sofa which is disposable and replaceable at our convenience,” the three-judge panel wrote in the decision.  The original lawsuit filed in municipal court in April, 2015, sh [node:read-more:link]

On the surface, things seemed to be looking up for the entire Mexican wolf population. In 1998, after Mexican wolves were poisoned and shot out of existence here, the Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced 11 wolves, with the initial goal of growing their numbers to 100. After years of struggle, the population crossed that threshold for the first time in 2015. Biologists counted 110 animals, a 25 percent increase over the previous year. M1296 was among 97 wolves counted in this year’s census.  Yet trouble lurks even in these historic numbers. [node:read-more:link]